#fun fact i wrote this reply while in coding class

[apollotronica]

APOLLO CAN U TELL ME ABOUR ON E OF UR OCS.. i was thinkin about how hearing u talk ab them kinda inspired me to actually pick my projects back up and also i think they r sick as helll :3 pretty pleaase ? ./NF!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

OKAY SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO REPLY I WAS STUCK IN THE LABRYNTH (i couldnt decide which oc to talk about) BUT i relauzed i havent really talkrd about hiiro at all on here :3 EVERYTHING UNDER CUT and ill format it like i formatted the buwan post :3

this hiiro (left image most recent) ignore thr typology on the right its outdated

fun facts :3

likes: warm cloudy weather, bright lights, computers and technology, large cities, classic literature, anatomy and neurology, strong flavors, squid ink pasta

dislikes: most people, sunny days, manual labor, following orders, bland food, going outside, trains and train stations, getting wet

nationality: japanese

relatives: (adoptive) mother and father, elder sister (pacchi, 2 years older), younger sister (heru, 3 years younger)

early life (sort of???) (cw child injury/neglect, bullying, ableism?)

disclaimer i havent Fully fleshed out its backstory so this will just be a large summary of . stuff that Occured

hiiro and his sisters were put up for adoption almost immediately after heru was born (hiiro being 3, pacchi being 5) and they took turns taking care of her bcuz their parents were too "busy" to hire babysitters. hiiro and pacchi got into a fight while heru (like toddler age atp) tried to break them up. because hiiro has always been quick to anger and sort of physical, when heru tried to intervene his first instinct was to push her as hard as he could while yelling at her to stay out of it, it doesnt involve her . errmm aftermath of that argument was . heru got permenant brain damage and hiiro and pacchis relationship Completely broke apart :[ aww womp womp . Ok fast forward . heru is homeschooled by a tutor and hiiro and pacchi are both in junior high. pacchi is popular and friendly and pretty, but her grades are lacking . hiiro has always been incredibly smart (even though pacchi is 2 years older, he skipped a school year or two and is in her same year), but his social life is miserable . because of his temper and Overall Unfriendliness he was put in separate classes away from his peers where he was the only student under a teacher who didnt care about hiiro or Pretty much anything . it wasnt seen often but when he Was seen he was beat up n bullied relentlessly n followed home , so a lot of the time he spent nights hidden in the school or in damp alleys because he didnt want to lead anyone dangerous back to pacchi and heru . when he Was home pacchi ignored him and heru would try to make conversation but hiiro was Pretty much entirely nonverbal during their school years . at home hiiro drew and wrote and played like anyone else his age but bcuz hiiro looked different and sounded different and acted different it ended up outcast and alienated :[ womp womp

career ??

aaaanyway yada yada hiiro graduates early n basically disappears into researching neurology n brains n Specifically how theyre "programmed" , they end up lowkey kidnapping a couple people to experiment on them w a janky "neuroprogramming" device that, once hes sure is Safe To Use , hiiro uses on itself :3 the way proples brains show up on the device isnt like an mri or anything , the way it shoes up actually Depends on the person so sometimes itll be a short rpg or lines of code or Minesweeper and because hiiro Made the device they can decipher what each brain thing means and collects data based off that . but because what he does is Very illegal the government eventually tracks him down and forces it to work w them or theyll Krill him .

fun facts part Two :3

hiiro has only had alcohol Once and despite being of legal age they were kicked out for looking too young . he cant hold his liquor

he frequents a gaming cafe and knows all the staff by name but is too embarrassed to be seen in front of other people , so it rents out the whole cafe when it wants to go

hiiro has 3 cats and they are all Huge

after he Reappeared hiiro actually reconnected w his sisters and visits them as often as possible . Its not very affectionate at all though

i actually made his voice claim miyashita yuu . the songs where hes louder and yelling r more what i was thinking at the time , but i think miyayuu's soft speaking voice works as well

all the sleeves on their sweaters are slightly tethered and frayed because he fidgets with them while working . the right sleeve is more torn than the left

he doodles in his free time and has posted a couple oneshots on obscure manga forums . they dont keep up with them but one of them ended up getting really popular

hiiro Loves scifi . his entire apartment is decorated in super lame and obscure scifi anime posters and figures

THANKIES !!!

[tsui-no-sora]

It's mostly back to normal again and it makes me rethink and get angry again about how fucking unnecessary this all was >:/

Anyway, how's your day going? Also, believe it or not, I stated to lean coding too and I hate it I'm so bad but I'm trying :D

Yooo! Really that's so cool now we can learn coding together and stand in each other's metaphorical doorstep while raging because the program won't freaking load

I'm learning mostly Phython and JavaScript because I got a class on it in school right now and I really like the teacher and I actually got interested on the work itself I really wanna try to make a short visual novel and so far I have managed to actually code in decisions and such but I still got so so much to learn + all the actual school stuff and Same I have to spend so much time just closing it and reloading it and doing endentures and stuff but I genuinely am having so much fun with it I think it's so cool

[gatoru]

softie || matt murdock x reader

author's note: now i'll be honest with you guys. i quickly wrote this little thing for myself, and it might be too niche. i was nervous for having in-person classes again and thought about matt finding my notes. yeah, have fun -- and remember!! feedback is always welcome :)

summary: study sessions, funny shaped port-its and matt murdock. (college!reader x matt murdock)

“And what exactly are these supposed to be?”

You huff in response. Matt laughs.

Said man decided to take his night off to accompany you in your study session, with the excuse of helping you in the process. See, Matt liked to watch you in his own way: he liked to hear your soft breathing, or how you chew on the cap of your favorite pen. Matt simply adores when you mumble to yourself “I don’t understand this shit” or how quickly you type on your laptop. He had a particularly soft spot for whiny you get while studying, sometimes hating every minute of it. He could sense the mess on his coffee table, where notes and papers and post-its covered the surface. A study night like any other – which Matt saw as a way to get on your nerves.

Murdock was currently holding a bundle of colorful and funny-shaped post-its – frogs, cats and even an octopus one. Which was, as a matter of fact, why he was so entertained in teasing you. This side of your personality that he’s the only one who has access to, never fails to amuse him.

Matt knows you’re tough – truly, he does. He’s witnessed how you talk back in case someone disrespects you or your loved ones, how you don’t shy away from the right thing to do – and how you’re kind, but take no shit. Perhaps he’s biased, but Matt is sure you’re one of the toughest motheruckers he’s ever come accross, which is saying a lot.

Back to the matter in hand, Murdock has a shit-eating grin plastered all over his face – along with a cat-shaped, orange post-it in his hands.

“My post-its” You mumble in response, taking back your material.

One of the things Matt was positively surprised about you was that, in fact, you’re actually extremely soft – he knows how you color code your school notes, or how you appreciate pretty things and delicate gestures. How you drabble flowers on the corner of your school notes, how your pastel markers are always at hand. Matt realizes he fell in love with a one of a kind grumpy cat.

You’re secretly a softie.

He laughs once you take the object back in your hands, and he places a gentle kiss on your cheek.

“Leave me alone.” You say, attempting to keep your voice serious, but Matt could sense the corner of your lips turning upwards. “I’m serious, I really need to finish this research.”

“Okay” He replies, holding his hands up in surrender. One would think, from an outside perspective, that he might give up on annoying you. “I’ll behave.”

His last words are followed with his index finger crossing his heart. Matt Murdock might me a lot of things, but well behaved – and a good liar – isn’t one of them.

You huff in response, and the cycle begins again.

[shoutosun]

Glue Sticks & Super-Moves

Chapter 2: Tea Time and Muffins

Pairing: Kirishima/Midoriya

WC: 2175

Genre: Fluff, Slow Burn, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Pro-Hero Kirishima Eijirou, Post-Canon

How kindergarten-teacher Midoriya Izuku and pro-hero Kirishima Eijirou fall in love.

Originally posted on AO3

It always felt a little strange coming back to UA.

None of it felt smaller; the halls were still grand, and the doors still loomed over his frame, but it certainly felt odd, walking the halls as an adult.

Izuku had visited UA many times before, though he mostly kept to the teacher’s dorms. He usually came to see Hitoshi or Eri, and by extension, Shouta and Hizashi.

The only other person he ever visited was Principal Nedzu.

“Ah, Izuku! Welcome!” Nedzu said, flashing him a bright smile. “It is always a pleasure to meet with my former students, and this is no exception! It has been far too long since we last had the chance to chat!”

Izuku gave his former principal a polite bow. “Good to see you again, Nedzu. Sorry I couldn’t come by sooner.”

He walked into the office, taking it all in. Not much had changed in the last three years—the walls were still white, there was a plant in the back corner, and a large bookshelf to his left—though a few more pictures were on the wall than he last remembered. One was of All Might and Lemillion two years ago, both of them beaming for the camera. Izuku tried not to let his eyes linger for too long.

(While he was more than happy with his chosen career path, occasionally, the heartbreak he felt on the rooftop all those years ago would flit through him. His heart would clench uncomfortably in his chest, the pain only soothed by the memories of glitter, sock puppets, and laughter.)

“Would you like some tea?”

Izuku tore his gaze from the photo and sat in the chair across from the principal’s desk.

“Yes, please,” He said, taking the offered cup. It was his favorite kind.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, relishing in the sweet warmth of their tea. While he sipped his drink, Izuku spotted a miniature snowglobe on the desk. It was one he was very familiar with, having bought it for Nedzu on his first (and only) trip to see his dad in the United States. He had spent almost an hour debating the pros and cons of various souvenirs before his mother finally forced him to settle on the small trinket. Seeing it displayed so proudly brought a soft smile to his face.

Izuku took one more sip of his tea before placing it down and asking, “So, Principal, what would you like to discuss with me? I assume you’d like a copy of my lesson plans for Eri’s internship?” He pulled out a few folders from his bag.

“That would be wonderful,” Nedzu said. “I do appreciate how you are always so prepared!” He took the folders from Izuku and started to flip through them, occasionally taking a drink. “Have you considered whether you will be taking Eri for a work-study? I understand it’s a bit early, but I thought you might have some thoughts,” He said, not looking away from the notes.

Izuku hummed in thought. He had considered it, but he wasn’t sure if it was the best move. Eri hadn’t yet decided what branch of education she wanted to go into, so it might be best for her to be a bit more well-rounded. He could always advise her on his personal time.

He said as much to Nedzu, who nodded in understanding.

“I see,” Nedzu said, placing his teacup down and looking at Izuku. “I quite enjoyed my time teaching you in your high school years; do you think Eri might benefit from something like that? I am aware that she does not possess the same… analytical mindset that you do, but perhaps a shift in perspective would be good for her?”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure.” Izuku looked out the window behind Nedzu. “You and I both know that Eri adores you, sir, but I think it might be better for her to get more experience outside of UA.”

“Oh?”

Izuku nods, continuing, “I'm sure you know this already, but Eri had a very... well, a very sheltered childhood. After she was rescued from the Shie Hassaikai, she had to reintegrate into society slowly. Even now, she sometimes struggles with reaching out to her peers.” He sighs. “She does just fine at home; she loves her family to bits—including most of Class 1-A, as well as Togata. But if we want Eri to continue progressing, then we should help her out of her comfort zone—which has undoubtedly become the halls of UA.”

Nedzu temples his paws. “Very astute, Izuku!” He makes a note before continuing, “Glad to see we are on the same page. You never cease to impress me with your observations!”

“Thank you, sir!” Izuku chuckled.

Nedzu pulled a board out from his desk. “Well then, with business out of the way, how about a game of chess?”

“Only if you’re prepared to lose!”

Nedzu flashed him a feral grin. “Oh, we’ll see about that.”

“Okay, Eri, that’s the last of the basic classroom procedures,” Izuku said, clasping his hands in front of him. “Any questions?”

Eri shook her head. “Nope! I wrote it all down in my notebook; I’ll be just fine, Uncle Deku!”

“It’s Midoriya-sensei when we’re at school,” Izuku said, raising an eyebrow at the girl, “but I’m glad you’ve got it all down.”

Today was the beginning of Eri’s internship with him, and Izuku felt great. Eri was super enthusiastic about everything—even the most tedious and nitpicky policies—which made his life a whole lot easier. He was worried that she might be a bit bored at first, but she powered through, and now they got to focus on the fun part.

“All right, Eri, the kids should start arriving in a bit, so why don't you help me finish setting up the classroom, and then you can wait outside the door to greet the kids?” Izuku grabbed a few worksheets and handed them to Eri, nodding towards the tables. “Hara-sensei should be here in a few minutes as well. She texted me to say she was running behind.” Izuku stifled a laugh and dramatically whispered, “Don’t let her fool you; she’ll probably stroll in holding coffee and a cinnamon roll; it’s just how she is.”

Eri giggled. “ Does she ever bring you any, Uncle—I mean, Midoriya-sensei?”

Izuku rolled his eyes playfully. “Me? Only sometimes. She’s nice though and good at her job, so it’s not a big deal.” He shrugs, diverting his attention to the whiteboard, updating a few things.

Hara-sensei, or as Izuku knew her, Emiko, was a pleasant woman. She got along well with the kids; they loved to goof off with her at recess. (Sometimes, Izuku wondered if she wasn't actually a five-year-old herself.) She had been Izuku’s assistant teacher since he started working at Mimba Private Elementary School, and her help had been invaluable. She was actually only a few months younger than Izuku, but she preferred the assistant position. He had tried to get her to apply for promotion once, only to be met with a firm rejection, and glitter flicked in his face. ("Are you trying to get rid of me?") He hasn't suggested it since.

“I’m going to wait by the door now!” Eri called over her shoulder.

Izuku turned, replying with a quick, “Alrighty!”

Emiko strolled in about two minutes later, holding an iced coffee and—to Izuku’s surprise—three chocolate chip muffins.

“Well, would you look at that! My assistant actually brought me a treat?” Izuku teased.

Emiko laughed, setting her things down on her desk. She had long blue hair tied in two braids and was wearing a long-sleeved yellow button-up under a pair of overalls. (Mimba Elementary was famous for its lax dress code, students and teachers alike.)

“I even brought one for your intern!” Emiko chirped. “I hope she likes chocolate. They ran out of blueberry before I got there.” She picked off a piece of the muffin, popping it in her mouth.

Izuku grabbed one, peeling off the wrapper before taking a big bite. He hummed in delight.

“Are those from Sato’s?” Eri asked, peeking her head in the door.

Emiko grinned proudly, holding one out to the other girl, who raced over to grab it. “You betcha! My cousin works there, so I get a family discount!” She said, shooting a wink at Eri.

“Better eat that quick; the students will be here any minute now!” Izuku poked at Eri’s stuffed cheek.

Eri gobbled up the rest of her muffin in record time before sprinting back to the door.

Emiko turned to Izuku. “Do you want to stand outside with Eri today, or should I? She doesn’t really know me yet, so I wasn’t sure if she’d be more comfortable sticking with you for now.” She finished picking at her muffin, throwing the wrapper in the garbage.

“I’ll stay with her for today, but she can go with you tomorrow. I want to push her out of her comfort zone as much as I can while she’s here.” His lips upturned into a playful smile. “Plus, if you keep buttering her up with food, I’m sure you’ll be besties by the end of the week.” He chuckled, popping another bit of muffin in his mouth.

A teasing grin quickly overtook his assistant's face. “By the way,” Emiko whispered, “have you asked you-know-who out yet?”

Izuku felt his face flush red. “What?!” He squeaked. “Absolutely not! We both know I can’t do that!” He waved his hands in front of his face frantically.

Emiko raised an eyebrow at her co-worker. “Do I know that? Because I can’t come up with a single reason why it would be a bad idea.” She leveled him with an unimpressed stare.

“Um, how about the fact that he’s a literal pro-hero and I’m a kindergarten teacher?” Izuku suggested, bewildered at his assistant’s lack of understanding. “He’s way out of my league! There’s no way he would be interested in me!”

“I just don’t see the harm in asking!” Emiko exclaimed. “You never know until you try, Izuku! If he turns you down, then so what? You move on with your life, and nothing bad happens! It’s really not that complicated!” She huffed, crossing her arms.

Izuku sighed, running a hand down his face. “Look, Emiko. I appreciate the sentiment but, we have quite a few mutual friends, actually. So I don’t want to make it weird for anyone if they find out.”

Emiko looked confused. “Wait, you two know each other? I mean, everyone knows Red Riot, obviously, but he knows you too?

“Well, not exactly. I know a handful of his old classmates from UA, and my best friend’s boyfriend is his best friend, or well, one of them anyway. I’ve never actually met Red Riot before, but we have similar social circles. Not that I’ve been, like, avoiding him or anything! I would never do that! And we both see him here at school anyway so—”

“Izuku. Chill,” Emiko laughed.

His mouth clicked shut, blushing again. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, just calm down, okay? I get it might make things a little bit weird if he turns you down, but you honestly don’t have a whole lot to lose in this situation. Plus, his kid isn't even in your class! That makes it like, a million times easier to avoid him if it doesn't go well. So just go for it!” Emiko punched his arm before shaking out her hand. “I always forget you’re more muscular than you look.” She pouted.

Izuku breathed out a small laugh. “Thanks, Emiko. I’ll—I’ll think about it, I guess.”

“That’s all I can really ask of you." She gave him a bright smile. "Now go help Eri! She’s gonna be drowning in kids if you don’t!”

“Alright, alright! I’m going!” He waved Emiko off, walking over to Eri.

Little did Izuku know, his new intern had heard every word of his conversation.

And though she may not be a hero student, she was determined to save Izuku from his rapidly failing love life. And she knew just who to ask for help.

“Midoriya-sensei, is it alright if I text my dad real quick? It’ll be just a second!” She plastered on her sweetest smile, one that always got Uncle Deku to agree to whatever she had planned.

“Sure, but make it fast, okay? I’m gonna need your help getting the kids seated and ready for the day,” He said, quickly turning his attention back to the steady stream of kids arriving.

“Thank you!”

Eri pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she found who she was looking for. She drafted a text as fast as she could before sending it and stuffing her phone back in her dress pocket.

“All done, Midoriya-sensei!” The girl chimed. “What do you need me to do next?”

In his office, Principal Nedzu received a very intriguing message.

“Why, yes, Eri. I do believe that can be arranged!” Nedzu smiled to himself.

[olivieblake]

(1/5) Hi Olivie! It is so nice to formally meet you as Alexene :) I just wanted to give you my sincere congrats for the baby and the book! The best of luck regarding both! I'm not sure if you remember, but I sent you a picture of your books at my college a couple years ago, and they were both absolutely lovely. All of your works are amazing, and they've gotten me through some rough times over the past few years. Thank you so much for writing, and I've loved hearing your thoughts regarding

fictional characters and the real world. I remember reading Something Big late one night last December and feeling a jolt when I realized you wrote a story about STEM and my college. While I don’t code or work on electric cars, I have many female friends who do ;) haha yesss! this version is more about mechanical engineering; one of the MCs is a very crafty, artsy girl who doesn’t really understand that things she considers fun projects are actually a preternatural aptitude for engineering until after she is thrown into an advanced physics class Despite not being as STEM-oriented as I was in high school and my freshman year of college, I remember being blown away that this story had ever been written…Because I remember feeling so overwhelmed by finding out how vast STEM really was, not knowing what a hackathon or a start-up was before college, having friends who were way ahead of the curve, and having general imposter syndrome going into college, and I was so glad to see Pansy thrive. this is soooo my favorite thing to hear! it really took me by surprise how starved people were for a story like that I mulled over how to put my feelings into words, but thought most of the reviews and tumblr posts did more justice than I could ever try and write. totally fair; even I was overwhelmed by how meaningful those reviews and posts were STEM outreach, especially for those who aren’t in the typical STEM demographics, is super important! My classmates and I put together workshops, competitions, and activities for those underrepresented in STEM !!! that’s great!, but it’s hard to reach a lot of people that way. I’m so glad that books are being written to reach a wider audience yes. the goal is to quietly convince young girls that taking advanced math and science courses is normal and in fact VERY SEXY and I am so glad to know that your amazing talent with words and ideas and meanings will be helping spread this message! Lol feel free to never post this or reply because this is a lot of word vomit haha no way, I appreciate it so much! and you already had your lovely message of why you wrote this upcoming amazing book, but I thought I would let you know that I’m sure you’re going to change more than one life! ahhhhh thank you, so so nice of you, ahhhhh Happy upcoming holidays to you and your family, and I hope you have a lovely day! same to you!! thank you so much for this 🖤

[kacychase]

MM - My story to you (707xMC)

SUMMARY

This is my legacy for you.

Saeyoung, I know that you can see me here. Whoever you are, wherever you are, this is my legacy for you. You don’t need to wait forever as long as we are together. And to cherish and love you, I wrote this piece for you. Our love story…

In case you get lonely, in case you have doubts, I will always be here to take your doubts away.

Hoping that you’ll always love me as much as I love you~

Your wife always,

Hana

.

.

.

.

~---°---~

Word count: 4555

When you read this, Saeyoung, I hope that you remember the early days. Haha, in fact, I don’t really know how I landed there in the first place, how “Unknown” has chosen me to be hacked. Maybe I have been just a random puppet to him, one in a million…?

But either way, I’m glad I met you.

Back then, when I entered the house, and suddenly, the phone has been entering the chat messages, you have immediately reacted to my arrival. In retrospect, it was pretty typical of you to analyse my profile, find out my credentials, my number, likely my credit card details (thanks for not hacking me hehe~). Funnily, you were immediately the one teasing about everything.

Hahaha, just as I read what you wrote, I just couldn’t help it.

Back then, in confusion, I was trying to grasp the information you and the rest of the RFA had given me – and to be honest, I was a little scared that I might have been in trouble. However, as things finally started to calm down, I finally caught myself catching a breather.

The first time we somewhat got acquaintance was right after you did a background check on me.

You as Seven, hacked yourself into my life and into my heart, and before you could pull away, you couldn’t break through your own firewall. See how well you kept me as our wife to make these jokes? Aren’t you proud reading this, hehe~ I hope I will get more good wifey points from you once we have finally married in our own little spaceship.

Hadn’t it been for that moment, I wouldn’t have known for myself how to get to you.

.

Oh, that day… It was a tough day for both of us.

“Cheer up meow! You’re with the person you like meow!”

I couldn’t imagine what kept you out, what kind of burden and pain made you restrain and go back this much. Initially, I was convinced to cheer you up and lighten up your day, but now… I can’t help but already feel unsettled.

Your words could’ve cut through butter: “Why is this on again…” Your way of eyeing the cute robotic cat didn’t affect the little fellow, however. Completely unwavering, your own programmed cat responded in its perfected fashion: “I turn on when I sense depression meow! You’re with the person you like meow!”

Man…

I wish that this forced confession would’ve meant more now, but as your face distorts in frustration and anger, I can’t help but worry.

‘What happened to you, Seven…?’ was a thought that played through my head non-stop, knowing that my previous calls didn’t change your attitude… But you sounded happier then.

“You like meow! You like meow! You like meow!” I nearly would’ve chuckled from the cuteness of this thing, hadn’t you finally lost your last straw with it. Your glasses partly reflected your eyes as you stood up, but I could figure that you weren’t exactly amused.

“Damn it. Shut up…!,” you yelled in your annoyance, making me sober up. This was no fun time for you. Trying to look at what’s wrong, the following movements all were so sudden: you approaching the cat, taking it into your hand, and taking a big swing…

With this, your own sweet recreation of Elizabeth  the 3rd was no more – or rather, became many pieces scattered on the floor.

My face hardened at this sight, knowing that he might regret it later… And I couldn’t just watch all of this on the floor. It hurt. “ think it’s broken… Can I fix it?”

Muttering those words to you didn’t seem to help your mood become any calmer. “Just leave it. It’s useless,” you just replied, eyes looked on the pieces as if to avoid my eyes. This room, all of these insides felt even colder than before. The bomb suddenly didn’t bother me as much.

“I’ll throw it away later,” you said with a effortlessly booming, icy voice, although you probably didn’t try to sound menacing. At least I would always trust you not to hurt me. Just as assured as I am now, writing this piece to you, I used to be back then.

Your words… It was a bittersweet, funny thought. “And I’ll be leaving soon, so just forget about me.” While you tried to push me away, throwing knives into my heart, it’s as if it was the only goal for you. You seemed to run away, and with this, the hacker 707 became the most predictable person I could hack myself. Neither me, nor the RFA were meaningless to you, and your efforts to protect us proved it.

“I’m sure you’re just upset over Yoosung!,” I just replied with as much enthusiasm as I could muster – I hated the cold feeling of the apartment, “Cheer up!” I just wanted him to be happy, to forget his grief. And I have always been glad to be born a fighter. Your statement: “It’s none of your business how I feel” sobered me up like anything else. But sulking and choosing to be hurt wasn’t an option for me when I knew what my goal was.

I would not take these empty phrases to heart. Back then I already knew that this was not the true Seven or Luciel. Or the true you… And ironically, you started saying these things as if you purposefully tried to contradict yourself: “You wouldn’t have known, but this is how I’ve always felt. There was never a single day when I wasn’t depressed.”

‘This man would make me start praying to God again’, I thought. I wanted to make you feel liberated for a change, to help you with your burden. But then, as you said these words, I understood that if you struggled for a long time… Maybe you didn’t know how to confide in me? Maybe you needed to figure out how to share and disclose yourself to other people before you could trust me?

The silence of me staring right back into his honey-golden eyes seemed to make him nervous, and he continued saying icy things: “Can’t you see that it was all a lie? The jokes, the pranks, all the laughs! Don’t think about me, just think about protecting yourself!”

It would be the least thing I would want, but knowing that you were (still are) the more capable out of both of us, I assured you instead: “I can protect myself so don’t worry!” I threw right back at him with a cocked eyebrow, remembering that during my time in middle school and high school, I did have quite a few self-defense classes. “I’m pretty strong.” I couldn’t help but smirk a little in my pride.

Instead of indulging, you kept up your façade: “You’re underestimating your opponents” and I knew that you as well were a fighter for your own things. For some reason, it made me believe in you even more. You wouldn’t give up on me, as much as I couldn’t give up on you. “You’ll really be in danger with that attitude.”

Not as if we weren’t already, I wanted to say but I realized that it was both ill-intended and unproductive. I didn’t want to lunge back at you. It’s what you twistedly wanted, and I was not going to let you down. “You’re so similar to Yoosung,” you muttered, looking down at thee wooden floor of Rika’s apartment, a sad smile appearing and vanishing just as fast. “Yu don’t have a care in the world regardless of what’s going on,” you said to me, and I couldn’t help but see him for what state you were in right then.

You avoided everyone, worked day and night, eyebags on your face, you lashed out on people you cared for, and were scared. “I just want to be with you, because I like you!” Sometimes, a hacker might see the code as too complicated due to circumstances.

“How many times do I have to repeat myself…,” you started muttering as you corrected your posture, your left hand now tightly gripping onto your headphone cable, “I can’t be with you. We can’t be anything together!” Your hand trembled, and I just listened to your every word.

“Everything that surrounds me… is an illusion that exists in a temporary life of an agent named 707. They’ll all soon fade away. My house, my cars, RFA, you, this place, everything… one day they will disappear like the morning fog. A real life, real things I can have… don’t ever think and hope those things can exist.”

“Yoosung, Hana, all the members, even if you say that you like me… my life…,” suddenly, you let loose of that cable, both of your hands dangling helplessly, just as your head looked down, “y life can’t embrace anything. You don’t know how it feels to live that kind of life. Don’t be nice to me when you don’t know anything. Please… get away from me.”

No. Even if it had been for the best of both of us, I wouldn’t have been able to fulfil your request because I loved you too much. I was and would always selfishly fight for you, and I still do it. I don’t regret anything, and I appreciate your support every day.

“Just leave me alone…”

I felt it in every bone.

“The person you like is the 707 in the chatroom, not me!,” you cried out, suddenly looking straight-up at me in bewilderment. I didn’t know whether what you said scared me or you more… But I wouldn’t accept it. I had to support you.

“Then please let me understand the person in front of me!” It broke my heart to see you like this, and after that incident, I have always known that you felt guilty for treating me like this, Saeyoung. But please understand… there is nothing to apologize for when you are scared.

And therefore I hugged you. God, you trembled so badly, your breath might have hitched. It was as if my senses went off immediately – you were so close, your smell of Honey Buddha chips and PhD Pepper, your matching racing heartbeat, your hitched breath were so much at once, but man.

I was glad I did that right thereafter.

You whispered my name. “Why are you doing this to me?” Suddenly, a dagger hit my heart. I wished it wouldn’t have hurt that much hearing you say that. But you struggled. I would be there for you, no questions asked. And if you read this, my dearest partner in crime, Agent 707, Saeyoung, husbando, please understand that this still counts, okay?

Okay.

Further on, you insisted that you couldn’t embrace anything, that your life was wrong from the beginning, dangerous and filled with lies… I instantly felt my heart drenched and twisted like a wet towel. As you said that you couldn’t protect me or your brother, that was it. I felt a little tear falling down, and couldn’t help but to shake a little. Secretly, I hope you wouldn’t feel it.

With a silent whisper, you asked: “Why can’t you understand me?”

Another tear, and silence. I didn’t want you to hear that I cried, didn’t want you to worry, so it prolonged my answer. For that, I sounded even more assured: “I like the Seven that’s in front of my eyes. Regardless of how complicated your life is. I want to know.”

Haha, Saeyoung, see how I remembered every word? While you said that you could remember every one of our conversations, I can just say that I do, too. And I treasure every one of them in my memories.

“Hana… Don’t do this… please… I-I-,” you mumbled in a gut-wrenching plea, showing your true suffering for something, and I hugged you even tighter. “I cherich you… I want to make you hapy… but I can’t! Why do you want to be with me when I’m so dangerous?”

‘It’s you, Seven’, I thought to myself, knowing fully well that it had always been you. It would always be you. “Why do you like me!”

It was you.

“There is no reason. I just like you. That’s how I feel!,” I call him out, suddenly my own voice shivering. With that, I suddenly felt your chest decreasing, letting out air both you and I had been holding. Your sigh was so relieving to hear, and I felt distress flooding out of my veins.

“You’re impossible, Hana,” you muttered, making me chuckle a little at his frustrated tone. “You’re so strange. I feel like I’m going strange, too. Why aren’t you giving up?!” When your voice broke, my face felt like the cat on the floor, shattered to pieces.

“Why aren’t you getting hurt and abandoning me?!” That was it. I couldn’t listen to it any longer. I didn’t want to hear you say these things, hurt yourself and me in the process. I loved you, and wanted you to be happy. As you continued to rant, I suddenly uttered a word, and it felt so incredibly hard to speak up.

It nearly was as if a wall refused to make me do so.

“You.”

Your body stiffened, and you turned around. For some reason, your stare was even more scared when you looked down on me, and your eyes widened. Letting my arms go off of him, I just couldn’t help but stare back. Why was he so bewildered to look at me.

“You shouldn’t have been able to…,” you stared at me, eyes teary. “Seven…,” I said, suddenly feeling like hugging him. So I did.

“Hana… Are you…,” he muttered in shock, body shivering even more. “I-I will protect you, Hana, I promise. You survived, you’re alive, and I will keep it that way,” you mumbled, suddenly hugging me tightly and back then not knowing what it meant, I just tried to hug you back.

“Can I be next to you when you work?,” I asked you back then, but you didn’t move. “A-Alright,” you replied with a shivery breath.

“I can’t guarantee that I will be good for you, Hana. I don’t think I will be good for you,” you remarked and went out of the embrace, looking at me meaningfully. Your golden eyes sparkled through your glasses, and I couldn’t help but softly push a little bit of your hair strands away.

“Your eyes…,” he whispered, “They’re beautiful.”

I had no clue what that meant back then, but I just replied that so were yours. My smirk seemed to have reached you as well. And as both of us felt that there was nothing to say anymore, you announced: “Time to go back to work.”

At that very moment, I already asked myself how the heck I had flipped the switch for you, an unknowing feeling in my tummy region as I approached you.

There was only one chair in your work area, and I realized that my tummy growled. You immediately turned towards me. “There should be some leftover stuff from yesterday,” you just immediately announced, just as your tummy started to growl as well.

With a small grin, I just responded: “I made sushi today. There have been some for you, too, so it’s definitely time to eat!” “I need to w-“ “I know, I’ll bring it, Seven.”

Quickly ignoring your protests, I ran off to the kitchen, knowing that I put extra much effort into the sushi. Even trying the inside out rolls, I smile at myself as I made a smiley out of the little plate with rolls. In the hopes that you weren’t a picky eater, I transported both plated to your station, putting it on a table where usually, your Honey Buddha Chips and your empty PhD bottles would have situated. I decided bring them away soon in my head.

However, your face was the best when you discovered what exactly I brought you. “God, Hana…,” you muttered, visibly gulping. “Why are you so nice to me? After I’ve been angry with you…”

“It’s because I have feelings for you. Plus, I would love you to try my sushi,” I smiled brightly and received a confused, yet admiring stare from my counterpart. “You’re too positive for your own good,” you finally smiled back at me with these words, seeing the smiley on the plate. As both of us took the chopsticks, I realized I forgot drinks. “Ah! Do you want to drink something or-“

As if reading my thoughts, you suddenly pulled out a bottle of PhD Pepper and man, I could have sworn it wasn’t there before. And yes, after that, both you and I know that it wasn’t there. “A tribute to the Gods for my beautiful existence and for having you in my life!,” you just rambled out of nowhere, probably to light up the mood.

I couldn’t help but blush though. “Thank you, Seven. I’m glad that we can get along like this,” I sincerely couldn’t help but saying this, but your eyes intensively stared back. With that, you put away your headphones, probably because we were about to eat. “You’re too good for this world, Hana. I want you to know that I want to make you happy from now on…”

Your words made my heart skip a beat, and the way you blushed… While you might have pulled up your sleeves – with very handsome lower arms – I couldn’t help but stare at your gushing face still. “Hey, Seven.”

As you looked up, I desperately wanted to kiss you. So much, but I didn’t know whether I would overwhelm you again.

So I took a deep breath.

“Could you feed me again please?”

This was WAY better, hahaha. God, even writing this, your reaction was hilarious! I bet still that both of us thought of the time you were still angry, and fed me all flustered. WheI asked you oer the call, I honestly wouldn’t have expected you to accept it.

But this time, I was less surprised.

“Okay, if that’s what it takes you to e-eat,” you stammered, your face competing with your hair for redness. Man, you looked adorable to me.

“Hmm… Maybe, I can feed you, too, so that all of us are treated equally,” I replied with a little grin.

“How can you be quirkier than 707, Hana?! You’re really strange!,” you finally called out on me, grinning nervously. I just couldn’t help but laugh it off.

“I still love you, Seven, Luciel, or however you want to be called, I asked you to feed me last time. I want to repay with gratefulness!”

And with that, where there has been coldness in the apartment, your chuckle… I don’t know whether you do it on purpose, but it is still absolutely beautiful. It makes my gloomy days sparkle brightly, and my face can’t help but have this lovestruck face you fall for so much. I could have listened to you forever back then.

“That’s it,” you say, your eyes shining in a breathtaking way. With that, you took the chopsticks into your had, picked up a Sushi from your plate and chirped: “Open your mouth, kitty~”

As I chewed happily while looking at him, when all of a sudden he asked something of me.

“Please… call me Saeyoung. It’s who I truly am.”

.

.

After that, for some reason, we could’ve taken up to any challenge. The RFA was happy for us, and even after a lot of effort, you, my Saeyoung – as I came to uncover his past – could save your brother and have him live in our apartment. Things were crazy, we went along too well for our own good, to the point of you proposing to me after a month. God… The door thing was a crazily good idea.

But there was one thing that was strange, and I didn’t know how to tell you during those days when we ate, when we were grocery shopping, or when both of us worked next to each other on that computer. Most of the time, I was finished before you and I could cuddle on your lap after… It was amazing. Still is.

However, there are… weird things going on. Ever since the messenger mystery has been solved, I could live a life chatting with everyone, but since the first day of us as a couple, I couldn’t help but see them… Glitches.

It had been so weird, but scary, and I didn’t know how to tell you. I dreamed of losing you, and I was afraid that I was about to disappear when parts of binary code appeared on my hand that night.

“OH MY GOD!,” I shrieked into the usually tranquil and loving night that we had.

“Hana?!,” you called on me, immediately worried since you knew that I wouldn’t be easily shaken. “What is it?! A bug again?! A bad dream?? Do you need anything?!” Bewildered that he couldn’t see the obvious glitch on my hand, I couldn’t help but point it out: “Can’t you see it?!”

“What?”

Your voice was extremely confused, just as your face was speaking of alarm. Wearing your glasses today, I know that you would have to see it as I held up my arm.

And seeing that I had not much to explain, I still tried to soothe us both. “Saeyoung… I don’t know what this is, and I don’t know how to get rid of it. Could you know what it-“

“The game… It’s starting to fall apart.”

All of a sudden, the whole atmosphere was scary. I could practically feel your heartbeat from far away, and for the love of God, I didn’t know what you meant. “What do you mean?”

Panic seemed to influence your fingers as you grasped my face, your pupils dilating. “Please don’t disappear, Hana, I- I might have made a mistake.”

In complete confusion, but used to that emotion, I brace myself by taking a deep breath: “Please explain the situation to me. I’m here. I won’t go.” This was to soothe both of us as I had no fucking clue what was happening to my arm. The green numbers on black ground felt like a huge computer screen.

Hearing you mumble: “It’s lagging… I knew it…” and other things scared the heck out of me, Saeyoung. Don’t pull this shit ever again on me, you hear?!

“Saeyoung…” My voice was increasingly panicky as I picked up the vibe that you were exerting.

“You see everything around us, Hana?” We could have heard a pin drop at the silence.

“Yes. What about it?”

“Well…,” you muttered, and with that, you pressed the enter key.

And this was when I finally understood what you have said all the way. The ugly truth, the failure to protect, the way you were anxious of leaving…

All of the things around us, even Saeran bursting into the room… It turned into a huge mess of binary codes, other commands I have seen you type, and so, so much more…

“Saeyoung?”

“Right now, I have created all of it. I wished for it a while ago…,” I looked at you in bewilderment. “I wanted to help out people of this world because the world is cruel, Hana. This world was made to satisfy someone’s obsessions, nothing more. I’m just a pawn of this. So are you. I couldn’t have you near me because I wanted to resist this.”

Your chest began to shake, but I was suddenly taken aback. What… What the fuck happened to me?! My vision started to blur.

“I’m just here to help someone else, and I was supposed to leave,” you muttered to explain this to me, “But here I am, loving you and being engaged to you.”

Seeing your face has pained me the most. I couldn’t help but be in utter shock. “Then why… Why did you do this?”

His face scrunched into a painful smile. “You broke the fourth wall. You are someone. And I want to protect you from this.” I listened to your story, to what this world was supposed to be, how I might have been a player who glitched into my own body.

But imagine if my words had been any other than the ones I ultimately said: “I will stay with you, Saeyoung. No questions asked. We will fix it.”

Looking at me in awe, with tears in his eyes, he closed the gap between us, eyes closed. I immediately put my arms around you as you remembered, deepening the kiss and responding to this fiery and heated kiss. I loved how much we were able to share, to inhibit our shyness towards each other. But this hurt.

It hurt so much when we broke apart

“If you survive this, Hana… You might become the wizard’s apprentice, too. But if you wish to come back to your old self, I wouldn’t fault you…,” you whispered crying, and as you broke, you just decided to look me dead in the eye, knowing that with his past, and this current state of me slowly becoming unreal, I could say anything.

“H-how?!,” I replied in desperation, tears streaming down my face at the distress. “I want to be with you, Saeyoung! I wish for us to be together and happy! Is this too much to ask?!,” I screamed into the void around and glared at him. “How the hell could you have hidden it to everyone?! What about that damn wish?! God… This is messed up, Saeyoung.”

As the world reconstructed itself around us, I couldn’t help but keep my eyes trained at yours, guilt haunting his face. “You know what. How did you know what happened?” You stared at me, knowing full well that back then, you left me in utter confusion. “Your eyes… normally, you weren’t supposed to have any. But look at yourself.” Looking at his glass reflection, I tracked myself – light brown hair with bangs put up in a bun, angry hfnwn eyes looking back at myself, I realized…

I remembered. I played the game myself. This wasn’t my original me…

But I still don’t care. “God, I’m sorry, Saeyoung,” I said to him, realizing how many times he must’ve watched me play this game. “It’s alright, you played my route nearly all the time,” he chuckled emptily back at me, “Someone was obsessed with me~”

Blushing, I responded: “Well, yeah! See? I would choose you again! The first time was me being a newbie…”

“Well, MC,” God that felt weird, “What now?”

.

.

.

With our first child on the way – it feels like two though – I feel like I chose the right path, don’t you think, Saeyoung? You have asked me how it was to find everything out, all of a sudden to ask that. It was a shock, but I decided to focus on what I truly wanted. I want you.

So here I am, with my lovely husbando, married at the space station, a horribly unhealthy eater and great taste in your car babies~

With the goal to be a good wifey… Both of us don’t exist, but to us both, we do.

And that is what counts, doesn’t it?

[stevenbasic]

Memo:

To all staff:

First off I want to welcome all our new stafff members. We’re so excited to have you working with us!

“Wh-what is this?” I asked, holding the paper Melissa had just produced, right after telling me something of a new ‘culture’. It looked to be a memo, addressed to our staff members.“It’s a memo I wrote, silly,” she teased, “addressed to our staff members.”I took a deep breath, and read on….

We are becoming a younger, more modern, and like more vibrant team, something that will no doubt better serve the needs of our patients and our own Doctor J. Along with all the changes we would like to start to introduse a new corporate culture that better reflect’s the changing face of the practice...

“So, uh, Melissa…” I began, already leery of where this was going. What would my associate RNP Vida, or my older employees like Marjorie and Doris think? How would they take this?

“Just keep reading,” she urged, smiling, obviously proud of her creation, this memo, as she subtly leaned across the desk towards me. I...I really…

oh man that perfume…

...I really didn’t want to disappoint her.

Look around. We are a company of women. Many businesses crush women’s ambitions, hold them back, and in the past I don’t think this place really did anything to help. Right? But I want Far Horizons Medical Assosiates to be a place where you can grow and aspire to be something greater. So with this Culture Reset we are going to be putting less emphasis on hierarcy and more of a premium on teamwork, participation and consensis. We want to empower women, help them evolve, let them express themselves…

Ok, aside from the grammar and spelling mistakes, this was beginning to sound like an excerpt from a textbook, or notes from a half-baked lecture from a business class at a local community college...which it likely was. 

Her eyes were so glimmery, she smelled so nice. Her boobs were so big.

But, I mean, this was...I guess…not all bad…?

“Is it okay?” she asked, eagerly watching my face, reading my eyes, my brow, as I continued.

You’ve seen the news, right? Women are rising. We want our fair share, and we can take it! They'll just have to learn what it's like being shoulder to shoulder with their equals. In fact they’ll learn we’re more than their equal

“‘M-more than equal’?” I asked, wondering where this was going, and who exactly “they” were. This seemed more than just some boilerplate morale boosting language. It made me nervous that Melissa seemed to be parroting some of the talking points I’d heard from some of these female candidates running for various offices, around town, in the state, even nationally. Had she had help writing this, from someone else on the staff? Or from someone outside the office? And did I want this sort of mentality here? This was (ostensibly, we can get into that later) my office. My practice, right? “What do you mean, when you say ‘more th-..’?”

“Well, girls, I mean,” Melissa smiled, leaning in even a little more, inadvertently highlighting her stupendous figure, emphasizing the shape of her huge left breast in her top in contrast to her tiny waist as it pushed forward towards met,  “We can be equal and THEN some...right?”

“Uh...I guess..?” I replied, submissive thrills from deep inside me causing jitters in my belly, the mass of that tit like a magnet to my gaze.

“Keep reading,” she told me.

“O-okay…”

In the name of embracing our womanhood, aknowledging the changing face of the practice, I have already instituted Casual Fridays and would like to announce other changes which I think will be important…

 What followed was a not-insignificant list of changes Melissa was suggesting for the office. I read on…

“New desk chairs...okay, I can see that,” I agreed, nodding as I recited the list, “‘We will be redecorating the breakroom and want your suggestions!’? Sure. Time for grooming?” I asked, a bit confused, “Like, putting time aside for, what? Teaching? Encouraging the girls to succeed?”

What I was told was that the girls needed extra breaktime in the day for makeup.

4. Mandatory (girls only!) Happy Hour Meetings. Tues night is Margarita night at Dempsey’s! 

5. Medical Assitants will now have the option of either there scrub uniforms or the professional outfit of they’re choice.

Wait this is what Amelia had asked for, earlier. Rrrrrr…..

“I...I don’t know about the uniform th-...thing. It’s...” I began, but my stammerings began to fail as I watched while, without a word, Melissa stood up from where she sat on my desk, stepped around towards me…

“...i-it’s been s-scrubs for s-so...l-l-long-” I tried to press. 

With a smile she looked down at me, watched me stutter...

“I-I-I th-think…”

...and sat in my lap.

“You were saying?” she asked, with a knowing, crooked smile.

“Uh…it’s sounds...”

“It sounds good?” she offered, her confident weight having settled itself fully onto me.

“I...guess?”

“No problem with the new dress code?” she asked, looking down to brush a mote of lint from the shoulder of my jacket.

“Um, uh…no, it’s-”

“I’m glad you’re seeing things my way,” she concluded with a mischievous smile, dimpled and victorious. Almost as a reward, she blessed me with a nice deep inhale, a straightening of her back and shoulders. Her big chest bulged.

...

“Is that all I have to do,” she laughed at me, seeing me speechless, “to get you to do anything I want? Sit on you lap?” She was joking but I’d found myself like this with Melissa before: with her heavy weight in my lap, her body overwhelming mine, I’m basically helpless - and to my chagrin we obviously both knew it. “You’re too easy!”

“You’re...you’re making fun of me, aren’t you?” I managed, mortified by my lack of will. 

She giggled at me. “Yes, a little..!” she teased, “but don’t try to tell me you don’t like it..!” 

She poked me in the belly. 

“Hey...!” It was then that I realized...shit. I was getting hard, quickly, under the soft girth of her wide, muscular rear. Crap, I can’t let her...

But she just giggled again at my protest, as I squirmed under her, trying weakly to escape more playful pokes. Was she tickling me? I moved, convulsing spasmodically, which only served to rub my thickening shaft up and into her bottom.

She settled her left hand on my ribcage, under my jacket, seemingly oblivious ...but was that roll of her hips...nnnnngh, chrissssst, don’t do it, don’t press back...down into me an accident?

“Your diet must be working,” she commented casually, now inspecting me with hand and fingers,  “You seem so skinny.”

“D-diet?” Her perfume was overwhelming me, and I did all I could not to moan in pleasure. Though I’m sure she could feel me, now totally hard and pressing up into her, she still gave no sign of noticing. 

“All the girls think you’re on a diet,” she said, plainly, “you’ve been looking…”

Her hand ran up my chest and she squeezed my shoulder. 

“...smaller. Like, wow. Just look,” Her right hand squeezed my right upper arm. “I think my arms are bigger than yours…” she said, now showing off her own triceps, which even through the sleeves of her dress looked large, “...by a lot.”

I said nothing as she regarded me, as if seeing me with new eyes...like she was sizing me up. 

“Here, “ she said, abruptly, “your tie is a mess, stand up.” 

“Wh-what?”

“Your tie. Let me fix your tie,” she said, as she stood off my lap, now towering over me, “Stand up.”

Cowed by the confidence of this unreasonably attractive young woman, a girl I’d spent more hours furtively obsessing over than I need to admit, I did as I was told. With as little space as we had behind my desk, when I stood we were face-to-face. Or, rather...face-to-throat. 

I was shocked by how tall she was. 

She smiled, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking.  Stepping back an inch, so her breasts no longer pressed into my collarbone, she began to dutifully straighten my green, striped tie. She looked down at me as she began again to speak. “You have to admit, your employees are all women,” she said, “but this place has been a man’s world for a long time. Now things are changing. We need a new culture, one where all our voices are heard. Where we’re all a little bit more...equal.”

“B-b-but…” I tried, but my voice was quelled as she inched, by a fraction, closer to me. Another wave of perfume filled me. ...what about me?

The physical superiority of this woman was apparent

”Yes it is true…” she continued, as if acknowledging my unspoken complaint, “Some of us are...just a little more equal than others.” Finished with my tie, she inspected her work. “Some of us are more built for the job than others.”

<gulp>

I’m sure she heard me swallow. 

Melissa giggled. “You’re thinking about how tall I am, aren’t you?” she asked, wryly, settling her hands on my thin shoulders. 

“I, uhhh…” I attempted, my heart racing. 

 “It’s my heels,” she apologized, “they’re six inches, so that makes me…”

Her eyes flashed. 

“...really tall <giggle!> They’re new, I brought them in today to wear out after work tonight.”

Her hands slid down my arms, as she bit her lower lip. She seemed to be sizing me up again. Her shoulders - broader than mine. Her hips - wider than mine. Oh god I was so hard. 

“You are coming, right?”

=================================

Super-humbled to have the awesome @fetish3d do some work for our story; the original render for the details I used can be found at his blog here. I also want to thank @ankle4u​ and FantasticMrMoose for their help in getting this done.

BONUS! For those with a healthy fetish for dry, intra-office communications, here’s Melissa’s full memo: 

and page 2 (”there’s a page two??”)

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 9

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 2,597

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: Some light swearing.

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

Hoseok pressed his lips together as he stared down at your sleeping form on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. He really shouldn’t be all that surprised, but there you were. After the two of you came home from the Dance Studio, neither of you wanted to do anything that required more than minimum effort. That was obviously code for Netflix and pass out on the couch.

It was two in the morning when his own head started to fall backwards and somehow, you were still awake and even managed to help him into bed. He must have been more exhausted than he realized because he never went to bed without making sure you went to sleep first, a habit he’s had for God knows how long. It was done with your comfort in mind, because if Hoseok was being completely honest, you slept in the weirdest positions of all time.

Like right now.

You were on your side facing the cushion, legs curled up to your chest and your left arm was resting on your stomach. So far, a normal position. But your right arm was over your head and bent at the elbow over your face, like you were protecting yourself in your sleep. It was the most uncomfortable position he had ever seen someone sleep in and with living in a shelter for year, he saw some interesting positions.

“Oh Strawberry,” Hoseok murmured, lightly shaking his head at you. With extremely careful movements, he managed to bring your arms down to your sides, allowing him to slip an arm under your knees and the other behind your back to carry you. The moment you were settled in his arms, you shifted, forcing him to hold his breath. He didn’t want you to wake up, it was early – nine in the morning – and knew you would complain about being awake before your alarm went off. Instead however, your fingers grabbed a hold of his shirt and you curled closer to him, sighing.

He smiled at the action, his tail wagging as he walked the short distance to your bedroom to deposit you under the warmth of the million blankets you tended to sleep under. His face turned into one of longing, watching as you burrowed under your blankets. There was nothing he wanted more than to get in on the other side and fall back asleep with you safely in his arms. But he held himself back. Instead, once positive you wouldn’t wake up for another hour, he tip-toed out and quietly closed the bedroom door, not relaxing until he was in the kitchen of your small apartment.

No…not small. Cozy. He liked calling it cozy because it had that homey feel to it. As you always said, one day you were gonna need a bigger space, but he liked not having to walk down an endless hallway to get to a kitchen where you could fit three ping pong tables side by side and still have more than enough room. Having everything close and nearby, was much better.

Scratching his ears, he grabbed his phone with his free hand, smiling as he opened up a message from Sue. She had taken a selfie with some of her new friends at a café from the looks of it. His thumb typed out a quick response, wishing her good luck in classes along with asking her to be safe when she went out. If anything were to happen to Sue…Hoseok shook his head, his ears flapping at the movement. He needed to stop thinking like that. He was already protective of Sue, something that Colin isn’t too fond of at all, but what was Hoseok supposed to do? He was a German Shepard hybrid. It was in his nature to be protective of those he cared about.

Speaking about caring about someone, he looked over his shoulder back at your bedroom door. If he listened closely, he could hear the even beating of your heart. Unless he managed to drop every pot and pan you owned, there was nothing waking you up before your alarm.

His heart on the other hand, good God. Was this how it was supposed to feel all those years ago? Was he supposed to feel like the most powerful hybrid when he carried you in his arms? Were you supposed to feel like home? Hoseok was fairly certain, more then certain, he was positive that you were his mate. There was always that slim chance he was wrong, that you weren’t and he was making a mistake. If that was the case, he���d be devastated.

Hoseok needed to talk to Namjoon. The wolf hybrid had gone through something similar, and if there was anyone that he could trust with a secret this deep and get advice from at the same time, it was definitely Namjoon.

With his phone still in hand, he shot a quick text to the wolf asking if he wanted to meet up for coffee at eleven thirty. He wasn’t surprised when he got a reply within a matter of five minutes.

Sounds good to me.

Hobi was surprised when his phone vibrated seconds later, signaling another message.

It’s about her isn’t it?

His thumbs hovered over the key but he wrote out a simple ‘yes,’ and, ‘I’ll tell you then,’ and left it at that. There was no point in telling the story twice. With plans made, he set his phone back down and started filling up the kettle with water to boil for coffee when you woke up.

***

Something was up.

It wasn’t just that you felt like something was off, you knew for a fact that something had, or was going to happen, but you couldn’t put your finger on it and it was annoying the crap out of you.

By the time you managed to pull yourself out of bed, thanks to your blaring alarm, it was ten forty in the morning. You had to leave your apartment by eleven to get on campus and make it to your American Literature class and Biology lecture but still, no one liked having to leave their warm blankets for the cold weather.

Thankfully, you were greeted with Hoseok handing you a mug of coffee once you left the bathroom. You had on black leggings and an old black oversized hoodie with purple fuzzy socks for warmth. An outfit that obviously reflected the mood of every college student.

“Thank you,” you softly murmured, cradling the hot mug in your hands and took a long sip. As the heavenly beverage ran through your body, a soft moan escaped and you closed your eyes, taking another drink.

Hoseok raised an eyebrow, amused but also wondering how else he could get you to make that sound again. He shook his head immediately after that thought though, it wasn’t appropriate at the moment. Maybe one day, but until then he shouldn’t think about you like that. “You fell asleep on the couch again,” he said instead, walking back into the kitchen where he had the toaster out.

You paused at his accusation, the corner of your lips twitching as you settled on the chair at the high counter, watching as he glanced over at the toaster. “There was like twenty minutes left of the movie so I finished it. I must have fallen asleep by accident.”

He scoffed, getting out a plate just as an English muffin popped up. In a matter of minutes, the plate was slid in front of you with peanut butter and butter before going back and putting in another muffin for himself. When he turned around, he automatically laughed. You were sitting there in all black and a look of shock written all over your face. Mouth dropped open and eyes wide.

“You made me breakfast?” You asked, closing your mouth as it turned into a smile. As simple as it is, it was your favorite thing to eat in the morning.

“Of course,” Hoseok answered, still chuckling as he leaned back against the island you had, having to pause from drinking his own coffee so it wouldn’t spill. “You’re letting me stay here for four months and I know how to cook. It’s the least I can do.”

Hearing his explanation, your cheeks grew sore from smiling so much. “Thank you Hoseok. I really do appreciate it.”

“Oh, I know.” He chirped, buttering up his own breakfast.

You rolled your eyes, swallowing down some food and repicked up your mug. “Any plans for today?”

Hoseok paused, the knife he was using to spread the peanut butter was pressed against the softened muffin. The gears in his head were rapidly spinning in an attempt to create some cover up. He really hated lying to you, but there was no way he was telling you about the discussion he was planning on having with Namjoon. At least, not yet. Maybe one day he could. But that would mean you accepted him as your mate. That thought was just a hopeful dream at the moment.

“Just meeting up with Namjoon for brunch,” he simply answered, forcing his hands to continue moving. He refused to look in your direction just yet, fearing the second he looked in your eyes that he’d be spilling the whole damn truth.

In the time that Hoseok was frozen, you managed to finish eating and was tossing out the paper plate. One glance at the clock and you knew you had to kick your ass into gear if you wanted to leave on time.

“Brunch?” You quickly asked in an attempt to make sure you heard him right. “What brought this on?”

Shit, Hoseok thought. Shit, shit, shit. “I suggested it.” He finally said, thinking on the fly. “I thought he might like it, he seems like the type of person who would enjoy brunch.”

But you were rushing around, throwing your laptop and charger into your backpack, and grabbing the thousand-page textbook that you had decorated throughout the texts with a dozen colorful page markers. “That sounds like fun. Wish I could go.” Setting your bag on the couch, you power walked back into your room, grabbing your keys and phone charger before going back out to the living room.

Hoseok watched in amusement as you ran back and forth between your room and the living room where you had your bag, filling and emptying it out at the same time. As grateful as he was that you weren’t asking more about his meet up with Namjoon, he wished that you would just slow down. He knew how important school and work was for you, but you tended to let both things take over your life and stress you out beyond belief.

Without even being asked, he took your unfinished coffee and dumped it into a travel mug, topping it off with some of his since you both drink it the same way. There had been many times when he caught you stealing sips from his own mug.

“Come on Strawberry,” he gently called out when you disappeared into your bedroom once more. “I am demanding a hug before you leave here and I do not want it to be half assed because you’re rushed.”

“Half assed?” You repeated, walking out of the bedroom with your head tilted to the right as you tried to slip an earring through the hole. The minute you saw his smile and the travel mug though, you relaxed. “Give me one second Hobi and I promise, I’ll give you the best hug in the world.”

“You already give the best hugs in the world,” he whined. His tail however, continued to wave back and forth.

Once the ear rings were in place, you made your way over to him. “What about Sue? I thought you loved her hugs,” you teased, wrapping him in a hug.

“Yours are still the best.” He murmured into your hair, his arms tight as he tried to hold you close. That made you giggle and to Hoseok, it was music to his ears. So much so, that he nuzzled his head against your neck, getting you to laugh even louder.

Like always, his hugs ignited a warmth that spread throughout your body. It was always a mystery to you as how he was the only one to do this. Even at the happiest moment with your exes, this feeling never happened. It was a Hoseok only thing.

“Alright,” you murmured after a while, knowing that you had spent too long in his arms. “I have to get going to make it on time.”

Hoseok released a whine, his arms tightening even more to make you stay. If you didn’t have any other commitments you’d gladly stay behind. But college was expensive as fuck, meaning that if you skipped class, you’d literally be throwing away money. Which in your book, was not an option. Unless of course, you were dying of the plague.

You held your ground though and regrettably pulled out of his hug. Grabbing your jacket from closet, your slipped it on along with the rest of your winter gear, tugging your beanie on last. With a huff you grabbed the backpack, glancing at Hoseok when he giggled. He was patiently waiting for you to take the travel mug.

“Text me when you get there?” He asked, a hopeful look on his face.

With careful hands you took the coffee. “And I’ll text you when I’m leaving,” you added. The smile that appeared on his face made the thought of staying home all that more tempting. “Okay, I really have to go now.”

He opened the door for you, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his stomach. “Have fun with classes.”

“Have fun with Namjoon.”

Waving one last time, you headed for the elevator, smiling to yourself because you knew Hoseok was watching you. It was a part of his nature to make sure you were safe, that’s what he told you at least the first time he did this. But it felt different this time. Just like how dinner last night was different.

Everything was changing, and as the elevator opened up to the ground floor and you walked out of the building, you remembered how it felt to indulge yourself in his arms the night before. It sent butterflies flying in your stomach and made your mouth dry, forcing you to take a sip of your coffee once you were in the car.

Hoseok had made your coffee perfectly.

Staring out the windshield, you focused on the patch of snow that sat on the curb. It was the last remits of the snow storm from a few weeks ago. Although you used the term, ‘storm,’ lightly. The news had broadcasted it like it was going to be the worst storm of the season. In reality, your town got maybe, four or five inches of snow. Not that you were complaining, the college had cancelled classes the night before and your boss at the bookstore said not to come in, so you had the pleasure of staying in bed where it was warm.

The longer your stared though, the easier it was for your mind to wander. To what Namjoon said, to last night at the Dance Studio with Hobi, even to just fifteen minutes ago. And each time you found yourself longing to be back in Hoseok’s arms.

“What am I doing?” You whispered. There was no answer though, because you had no idea. 

[jadekitty777]

Across the Distance

Unofficial Taiqrowweek: Day 7 Bonus entry!

As promised, today is a double hitter. I wasn’t sure how to end this barrage of Taiqrow goodness - but some of my most well-liked stories tend to be my domestic fluff stories... so, you better believe we got some of that in here.

Rating: K

Word Count: 2,400

Ao3 Link: Across the Distance

Summary: Upon entering Atlas, Qrow immediately jumps on the chance to use all the kingdom’s fancy technology by to call Taiyang. After all, there was something really important he needed to tell him.

~

Qrow stuffed his hands in his pockets, following James down the hallway, eyeing yet another troop of heavily armed soldiers as they walked by. Atlas really was on high alert these days. He looked towards the general, seeing how tense he seemed to be as he walked tall among his subordinates. Normally, he’d poke fun at him about it; irritating Jimmy was one of his favorite past times after all.

But it was an important day and he didn’t want to risk souring the other’s generosity just because he felt a little out of place.

“Here it is.” James announced, punching in the access code into the keypad. There was a ding and the door slid open.

As they stepped inside, Qrow peered around the room. The space was small and square, with desks pushed against the walls that were laden with ancient looking computer equipment. There were also several rectangular boxes with blinking lights that he couldn’t even begin to guess at their function. “And you sure this’ll work?”

“I’ve been using it myself to keep in contact. As long as he’s there, you’ll get through.”  He looked at him, frowning sternly, “But I can only afford you a few minutes. And you can’t-”

He placed a hand on the general’s shoulder before he could prattle on about all his ‘stipulations’ again. Most of it went over his head anyways, especially the stuff on how improper decoding made for easier line tapping. All he really got was this was a risk and whatever he said had to be brief and non-incriminating. “I got it Jimmy. I promise I’ll play by your rules – just this once.” He grinned cheekily.

He studied him skeptically, finally sighing. “Alright.”

Qrow watched as James took a seat at the console, turning on the box-shaped monitor. The machine started to whir as it booted up, the screen turning from black to a deep blue. He pulled up a program on it that started running rapid lines of text. A few switches were flipped on another device next to it and he adjusted a little stand microphone, buzzing soon being heard. A few more keystrokes and a dialing started to emit from the speakers.

He lent against the desk beside the other, rather impressed. It really was ringing!

A click and then a voice spoke through: “General?”

“Hello Iseria. I apologize for calling so suddenly. I didn’t interrupt anything did I?”

“Not at all! Is something wrong?” Though it’d been years, Qrow could still detect that singsong quality in his old boss’ voice. It was the only hint the world had to know the headmaster of Signal was actually a canary Faunus.

“Everything’s as fine as they can be. Actually, this is more of a,” James glanced towards him, “Social call.”

Taking that as his cue, Qrow cut in, “Hey Izzy!”

There was a long pause, then Iseria shrilled, “Qrow?! Is that you?”

“The one and only.” He took the seat as James vacated it, nodding in understanding when the other tapped at his wrist as if a watch were there counting down the minutes. “And as much as I would like to catch up, I don’t have a lot of time. I was, uh, hoping you could get Tai?”

“Oh.” She said, all too knowingly, “It’s that kind of social call.”

He flushed a bit. “No! I mean, sort of but – I just, wanted to check up on him and-”

Iseria’s laughter interrupted him. “Yes, I’ll call him in.”

There was a bit of rattling and some feedback from the intercom system, the headmaster’s voice echoing across campus. He’d timed it to make sure it was lunch time, so Tai didn’t have to worry about leaving his class. He only had to hope he hadn’t left school grounds for some reason. As they waited, Qrow chatted it up with his former employer, simple things like how classes were going or if there were any promising students this year. But, he wasn’t really paying all that much attention to what was being said, just let her drone on while he tapped his foot along the floor.

“So, we started to tell the students that they couldn’t – oh! Tai, there you are.”

He sat up attentively, a smile spreading the moment he heard Tai speak. “Oh uh, sorry. Should I-?”

“No, no! Come in. The call’s for you.” Iseria insisted, her voice growing faint and he could only guess she had stood up.

“Oh um, okay?” He sounded so confused, he had to wonder what the set up on their side looked like. There was a bit of shuffling as they traded spots, and then Tai’s voice was coming through crystal clear, “Hello?”

Qrow could have melted. “Hey sunshine.”

Tai sucked in a sharp breath. “Qrow?! How in the world-? Wait, are you in Atlas?”

“Yeah. I managed to get that stick out of Jimmy’s ass long enough that he actually considered doing me a favor.” He grinned when that one actually earned him a chuckle.  

From the other side of the room, James grunted, looking mildly insulted. “Five minutes Qrow.”

“Got it.” He replied, shifting the chair a little closer to the desk.  

“Only five, huh?” Tai echoed softly.

“Yeah, guess this thing uses up a lot of power. And,” He hesitantly added, “I probably won’t be able to call again.”

There was a resigned sigh. He could almost picture Tai’s sad smile. “Well then. We’d better not waste it. How are you doing? How are the girls doing?”

“Just fine.” He said, though it felt like a bit of a lie. There was so much he needed to tell him… but not here. Not like this. “Met up with the pipsqueak and her ragtag friends halfway through Mistral. You shoulda seen her. She’s really getting good maneuvering with her semblance now. And when she’s leading her team, she’s-” He trailed off, folding his hands over the desk, idly fiddling with one of his rings.

“Like a carbon copy of Summer?” Tai filled in. “Yeah. I saw that too, especially during the tournament.”

“It kinda freaks me out.” Qrow admitted.

He chuckled. “And Yang?”

“Found us after we got to Mistral. Actually, the ice princess and faunus gal did too. Oh!” He lent forward, smirking, “You were totally right about cat girl by the way. Yang’s so into her.”

Now Tai was full on laughing. “I told you! Dad’s intuition. They getting along well?”

“Yes, professor. They’re playing nice.” Qrow teased, before tacking on more seriously, “They got some issues still, but they’ll work it out.”

“Good. And… What about Raven? Did Yang find her too?”

He sighed. He was waiting for that one. “Ooooh yeah.”

“Didn’t go well?”

“Not even a little bit.”

Tai huffed, unable to hide his slight irritation. “How she holding up?”

“Eh, honestly? Better than expected.” In fact, had she not literally walked out of one of her portals, he may not have guessed Yang had ever even had a run in with his sister at all. “She’s got your strength, that’s for sure.”

“Mmm, I think she’s got something stronger than that.” He argued fondly. “And, you? You handling that okay?”

If he had more time, he may have tried to find a way out of answering that. He could still remember that evening, just a few days after Beacon’s fall when he admitted to Tai what he’d told Yang shortly after her disqualification – about where she could go looking if she really wanted to find Raven. The fight that resulted because Tai knew why he’d really done it. His partner had been so furious, he stopped talking to him for the next two days entirely – had Ruby not awakened when she had, who knew how long he could have kept it up.

“I just, I thought she’d… I dunno.” Qrow struggled, unsure how to put his feelings into words. All this time he’d tried to solve Raven like a lock that was missing the right key – if it wasn’t him, or Tai, or Summer then surely Yang had to be it. To find out it wasn’t was more a blow than he cared to admit. “I just wanted her to come back.”

“I know you did. And I’m sorry she didn’t.”

He knew Tai well enough to recognize when he was being completely sincere. His eyes flickered towards the blue screen, wishing he could see his face. He could really use one of his softhearted little smiles right about now. “You forgiving me that easy?”

“Oh no, I still want to kick your head in.” He said, chipper as ever. “But, I get it too. She was practically all you had for years; that’s not a bond easy to forget. I’m sorry if my anger made you feel like I was insulting that.”

Warmth beat in his breast. How did Tai always do that? Sometimes he wondered if he pre-wrote all the sappy lines he would say, because he always seemed to know just what he needed to hear at any given moment. Conversely, Qrow was never quite as eloquent in return – if he could find the words at all.

“H-Hey, shouldn’t I be the one apologizing here?” Qrow chortled nervously. “Which I am. Sorry. For – I’m just sorry, okay?”

“Okay.” He repeated, mostly amused at his awful attempt.

He cleared his throat, glancing towards James. The man rose two fingers. He nodded, exhaling slowly, “Hey, Tai? I’ve only got a bit left here so… there’s something I really need to tell you.”

“Uh-oh, that sounds ominous.”

“Hey now! It’s not bad!”

Tai hummed doubtfully. “I dunno, usually when you start off like that, it’s to tell me you broke something.”

“Well-!” Damn, he was right. “It’s not like that this time.”

“Alright then, what is it?”

He took another deep breath, smiled at the screen, and said, “Happy birthday.”

In his surprise, Tai stumbled over his words, “You-You remembered?”

“Of course.” Qrow reassured, “How could I ever forget about you?”

Even with his bandit days far behind him, he was still pretty awful at remembering precise calendar dates. So, for what it was worth, Tai didn’t immediately list off every example of him doing exactly that.

What he said instead was worlds better:

“I love you.”

The same feeling seemed to fill every inch of him until it was spilling off his lips, “I love you too. And I miss you like crazy.” That was when he realized he’d gotten so caught up, he hadn’t even asked how Tai was doing. “Are you holding up well?”

“It’s… really lonely without you guys at home. And since I can’t call and check in, I’m just worrying all the time.” He admitted, unable to keep the melancholy from his tone. “But, I can’t tell you how much this call helps. Just hearing your voice and knowing you and the girls are safe… heh, it’s the perfect birthday gift.”

Qrow placed his chin in his hand, unable to stop smiling. “Oh, it’s that easy? Then next August, I’ll plan a month-long trip to Vacuo with the girls’. We’ll send you postcards.”

“Don’t you dare.”

He laughed at the way the other hissed that; sometimes he could really sound like the little dragon he was named for. His gaze flicked up as James walked over.  Five minutes had never seemed so short. “Looks like my time’s up. We’ll be home soon. I’m not too sure exactly when right now, but – soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He could hear the mirror of Tai’s own smile in his voice. “Be safe and watch after our girls.”

“Always do.” Qrow promised, leaning back. “See you; love you.”

“Love you too; and thank you, for everything.”

“Yeah. Bye Tai.” It felt like the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, giving Jimmy the nod to disconnect them.

“Bye.” Was the last thing he heard before the speakers were nothing but static. He stomped down on the loneliness that immediately crept into his heart, knowing it had to be ten times worse for his partner.

“I’m sorry it couldn’t be longer.” It was odd, hearing the normally stoic and firm general be so gentle.

Qrow shook his head, getting up from the chair. “Nah, you did plenty. I really appreciate it.”

He waited for James to shut down his equipment before following him out the door and back out of the high security facility. They mostly walked in silence, leaving himself with thoughts that swarmed him with all the things still left unsaid. All the troubles weighing him down and all the unearthed lies that had shaken his trust. He wished he could just go back to that room and be on that call the rest of forever, where it felt like those problems could be left behind.

And it was in that thought that he realized something in himself he’d never really perceived before: How he’d been on a path of self-redemption for so long, he had missed something important along the way.

It was hard to deny how good it felt to be a huntsman; to go out into the world and earn the praise of those he saved. To obtain that elite status he’d worked so hard for that made him both revered and feared. To be apart of something he once thought so large and important that even if he died doing his mission, he was paving a way for a better future.

Those things, those feelings, they were so large that they quickly overshadowed the simpler life with Tai he rarely slowed down long enough to enjoy. Waking up to the smell of coffee in the morning and eating toast with jam spread into sappy heart patterns. Picnics in the park or walks through the forest under a warm afternoon sun. An evening of late-night programs and movie marathons. Nights spent wrapped up in one another.

The more he debated it over in his head, the more he moved towards a conclusion that he’d never once considered in his entire life, never thought he ever could consider. But yet here he was, not only considering it, but determined to make it a reality.

After all, his own birthday was coming up soon too - and there was only one gift he could think of that he wanted. Now, he just needed to figure out how to tell Tai. Maybe the girls would have some ideas.

After all, retiring at forty-three was certainly something to celebrate.

- 

A/N: Prompt used was 66: “How could I ever forget about you?”

[ghostlystrangers]

Operation Promnata

Prompt: Shino and Kiba nominate themselves as Hinata’s wingmen as she asks her high school crush (your choice) to prom.

I wrote this for @narutoyearendbash!!!!

This is my first time actually writing something that’s more than a page long,, I hope others enjoy it. I welcome critiques!

Hinata sighed as she stared ahead, her elbow propped up on her desk and hand holding her head. “What’s up?” Kiba asked, as he suddenly appeared behind Hinata; startling her enough to make her squeak and sit up from her position. “N-nothing!” Kiba looked at her quizzically and then looked in the direction she had been staring. “Oh…. I see….” He laughed.

“What’s going on” Shino asked as he walked over towards the two. “Hinata was staring at her crush again haha” Kiba answered, pointing at Hinata as he laughed. Hinata hid in her jacket, thoroughly embarrassed by the situation.

“Kibaaa…. Stop….”

“You’re just too easy to pick fun at Hinata! But fine I’ll stop… for now.”

Kiba sat down on the chair beside her and put his feet up on the desk. His hand went up to his face and he started stroking his chin in a thinking matter.

“Y’know…. Proms coming up soon…. Why don’t you ask your crush to go with you?”

“W-what!?” Hinata instantly flushed red at the thought, “I.. I couldn’t! You know I couldn’t!”

“Well, why not! Me and Shino could help you out y’know make everything easy for you.”

“I would not be against this idea.” Shino added, “Why, because you’ve had this crush since 9th grade and it’s about time you’ve done something about it.”

“You guys….” Hinata sunk deeper into her seat. “I… can’t….”

“Sure you can!” Kiba shouted as he slapped her on the back, “And we’ll be right here to help you!”

The bell rang disrupting their conversation. Kiba got up and put his hand on Hinata’s shoulder, “just think about it okay” he said, as he went to go to his seat. Hinata sighed again as she sat up and brought her attention towards the teacher, trying to ignore the idea of asking her crush to prom.

---oOoOoOo---

It was the third class of the day, Kiba had Gym with Shino. Today was a free day, so they were allowed to do anything. Shino opted to sit on the bleachers. After a while of playing basketball Kiba decided to run up to Shino and join him on the bleachers.

“Okay Shino, here’s the deal. We gotta help Hinata with this crush thing.”

“I’m down, why? Because Hinata is my friend and I want her to be happy.”

“Yeah, yeah me too. So, to keep things simple I was thinking of calling this process of helping Hinata Operation Get Hinata To Ask Her Crush To Prom”

Shino stared at him for a minute, before giving his opinion.

“That is a bad code name, it is too long and complicated.”

Kiba sat there for a minute putting his hand up to his chin and his other hand on his knee, looking upward in a thinking fashion. “Okay… then we’ll call it…. Ah!” He put his pointer finger up and looked back at Shino. “Operation Promnata!”

“..... That is better I suppose.”

“Yes!” Kiba fist pumped and then smacked Shino’s shoulder. “Operation Promnata is a go! SO here’s what I think we should do…”

---oOoOoOo---

It was the end of the school day and Hinata was walking over to Shino and Kiba, the latter waving his hand impatiently as he waited for Hinata to get to their position. Once Hinata got to them Kiba spoke up. “Okay Hinata, we’re gonna help you ask your crush to prom before the weekend is over.”

“B-but-”

“No buts! We both think you need this and we’re here to help!”

“I…. I don’t know Kiba….”

This time Shino spoke up, “We want you to be happy Hinata, and we think your crush would be okay with taking you to prom. Why? Because your crush is a nice person and you’re a likable person.”

“Yeah!” Kiba shouted, “We don’t see why anyone wouldn’t like you, you could ask anyone and I’m sure they’d be down!”

“You guys….” hinata blushed and looked at the ground for a minute before furrowing her brow and looking back at the both of them.

“Okay!” She said, “I want help, please help me with this!”

Kiba did a small fist bumped and smiled widely, “Hell yeah! That’s the spirit Hinata!” “Now okay, let’s see….” Kiba began looking around as people were walking out of the school and talking in groups. He kept looking and looking until….. There! He finally spotted them. “Alright Hinata now watch this.” He said, as he walked up to a group talking in front of a black car.

“Hey! Naruto!” Kiba shouted, “you got a minute!?”

“Oh, hey dude!” Naruto replied. Naruto Uzumaki, the school’s famous idiot was standing with too other popular students. The most wanted boy in the school, Sasuke Uchiha; and the top student with the best grades, Sakura Haruno. Naruto waved as he replied to Kiba. “Yeah I got time, what’s up!?”

Kiba smirked as he talked to Naruto, “So hey, I know y’all three hang out at the gym right.”

“Yeah, we like to exercise ha”

“Right so like… You’re into sports and Sakura like mixed martial arts, so why don’t y'all come over to Hinata’s family’s dojo over the weekend? I think it’d be fun for y’all.”

“Oh yeah! I didn’t know Hinata’s family had a dojo, what do they practice there?”1

“They focus on Kung Fu, something really specific… I forget what it’s called… hold up” Kiba turned around and yelled at Hinata “Hey!!! What is it your family teaches!?!?”

Hinata blushed and began looking anywhere but his direction, “Um.. ah,...”

Thankfully, Shino decided to answer for her. “Ba Gua Zhang.”

“Right! Thank you Shino!” Kiba turned back to Naruto, “What he said!”

“Alright!” Naruto replied, “As long as Hinata is alright with that I’m always down to try new things. What do you say Sakura?”

“Yeah, it sounds fun.” Sakura replied. “I love traditional martial arts. I’d be honored to join if that’s okay.”

“Sweet,” Naruto turned to his other friend. “Sasuke?”

“I’ve already been over there since our families collaborate sometimes, but I’ll join you two.”

“Awesome!” Naruto looked over to Hinata and shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth “Do you hear that Hinata!? Is it okay if we all come over and practice with you!?”

Hinata looked flustered and stuttered, not being able to pop out an answer until Shino tapped her back roughly with his hand. “Y-Yes! That’s okay!”

“Awesome! We’ll stop by Saturday!”

“O-okay!”

“Alright, well we better be heading out right Sasuke?”

“Hm.”

“Yeah! Anyways see you Kiba”

“Right back at ya dude.”

Kiba ran back to where Hinata and Shino were standing as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all go into Sasuke’s car.

“So…” Kiba said, “Saturday, that’s tomorrow right?”

Hinata went wide-eyed, “Tomorrow!? Oh…” Hinata looked down in worry.

Kiba patted her shoulder and gave her a thumbs up.

“Don’t worry Hinata, we got your back. We’ll come over tomorrow too! Right Shino?.”

“Yes.”

Hinata seemed a little relieved by that.

---oOoOoOo---

Hinata stood in her family’s dojo, wearing her traditional uniform. The dojo was also traditional, with hardwood floors and a few artistic wall hangings. It was very large however. Spacious enough to hold 2 classes and still have room for regulars to practice freely. Hinata was standing in an empty area where she figured she could practice with her guests for the day.

“Hey!” Kiba came running up to her Shino following behind him. She almost didn’t notice them as she was worried about teaching her crush, but Kiba’s loud voice was enough to break anyone out of thought. Kiba and Shino were regulars to the dojo of course, being childhood friends of Hinata’s, so they both sported their own traditional uniforms.

“I’m glad you two are here,” Hinata said, “I’m worried I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, you’ve teached small classes before right?” Kiba asked.

“Well.. yeah but…”

“But nothing!” Kiba said, “It’s just like then! Don’t focus on the fact that your crush is gonna be in this little practice lesson! Just focus on teaching!”

“Kiba’s right,” Shino added, “You already know how to do this, because you’ve taught others before. This is the same as then.”

“.... Okay… Yeah… You two are right, I know how to do this.” Hinata seemed a little more confident, but as soon as she saw her three guests come in she still squeaked.

“Man… I didn’t know y’all had your own uniforms, you should’ve told me to buy one.” Naruto complained to Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura chuckled “Sorry Naruto, I thought it was obvious you would need one.”

“Ugh..” Naruto spotted Kiba and went up to him ready to complain.

“Kibaaa none of y’all told me I needed a uniform, I had to borrow from their extras that they rent out to everyone. I don’t wanna know how ,any people have worn this before me.”

Kiba laughed “Sucks to be you Naruto. But I feel ya, I had to do the same when I first came here.” Kiba snickered, “Of course, then I was a kid and they always have plenty of new ones for kids…” Naruto dropped his head in despair as he thought about how many grown sweaty men had worn the uniform he’s wearing now, tears dramatically falling from his face.

“So Hinata, “ Sakura spoke up, “You’re going to be teaching us a few moves huh?”

Hinata blushed, but answered right away.

“Y-Yes! I thought we could start with stances and then I could teach you a few simple moves.”

Naruto perked up at the thought of actually training now.

“Alright I’m ready! Let’s go!”

“O-Okay so….” Hinata explained some stances studying everyone closely in the stances so she could correct them, blushing heavily as she did so.

Naruto was sloppy, but he got it after some corrections, Sakura and Sasuke were perfect. But of course they would be… Hinata thought, Sasuke’s been here before and Sakura.. She’s already knows other forms of martial arts, she’s probably used to stances like this. Kiba and Shino were also perfect, as they had also been here before many times.

After stances they practiced some moves, Naruto and Sakura got the hang of them quickly while the other three had already learned them well, but still practiced anyways.

Once they were done, Hinata declared that they all did a good job. “I’m surprised by how quickly you two were able to learn... “ Hinata added talking to Naruto and Sakura. “Of course!” Naruto replied, “We’re top students!” He said as he wrapped his arm around Sakura.

“I’m a top student.” Sakura added, taking his arm off of her shoulder, “You’re just good at athletics.”

“Same thing!”

“Right….”

“E-either way..” Hinata interrupted their bickering, “it’s still impressive.

They both thanked her with a smile and she blushed heavily.

While that exchange had gone down, Kiba had leaned over to Shino and whispered; “I think it’s time for phase two of Operation Promnata” He spoke up so everyone could hear him. “So, everyone did so well, why don’t we celebrate a job well done?”

Naruto perked up at this, “How about we get rame-”

“No.” Sakura quickly interrupted Naruto, already knowing what he was about to say.

“Well,” Kiba said, “I was thinking we could all go out to karaoke, we could get food there.

“It’s not ramen, but I’m still down!” Naruto said, grinning.

“I think that sounds fun.” Said Sakura.

“Sure, whatever.” Sasuke added/

“What do you say Hinata?” Kiba asked, looking directly at her now.

“I….” She fumbled with her hands looking at everyone nervously before looking back at Kiba who winked at her once they made eye contact. She realized he was trying to help her out. “Okay, t-that sounds nice.”

“Awesome! I’ll meet y’all all outside of the locker rooms then.” Kiba said.

---oOoOoOo---

They were all walking to a karaoke place now. Naruto and Sakura chatted as Sasuke listened, while Kiba was pumping up Hinata with some tips on how to woo her crush. They walked in the establishment and Shino generously paid for a room for all of them. As soon as they got in Naruto was ready to go, already looking through songs. He laughed and turned to Sasuke, “Hey Sasuke we should sing this song!” He pointed at the tablet and on it was Evanescence’s Bring Me To Life. Sasuke read it and pushed Naruto. “Shut up you dweeb.” Despite his annoyance he let out a little smirk at Naruto’s little joke. Sakura laughed at them two. Hinata watched all this happen and blushed.

Naruto eventually picked a song and sang his piece. As he was singing Sakura was looking through the songs. “Oh!” Sakura said, as a song peaked her interest. “Hey Hinata, would you like to sing this song with me?” She showed the tablet to Hinata and on it was Disney’s Hercules I Won’t Say I’m In Love. “O-Oh… Um” Hinata blushed once again and hid her face behind her hand” Kiba looked over her shoulder. “Oh yeah!” He said, “Hinata love’s that song, she’s really into Disney. “Me too!” Sakura replied. “I’ll let you take the lead part!”

“I-”

“Come on Hinata who else could sing that song with her but you” Kiba said as he slapped her back. “We’re all a bunch of boys it’d be weird.”

“O-okay.” Hinata agreed, blushing profusely.

They sang together, Hinata taking the lead. Sakura singing backup, looking at Hinata each time she had a line. She got really into the role, but Hinata shied away and looked down each time Sakura looked at her. Once they were done both Naruto and Kiba were cheering them on while Shino clapped. Hinata quickly hid behind her hands and sat back down. Kiba sat down next to her and grabbed her hands, lowering them from her face. “We’re almost ready Hinata next is phase 3.”

“Phase 3?” Hinata asked, not knowing of their little operation.

“First we let everyone rest with some food and then we get you ready to ask your crush to prom!”

“K-Kiba!” Hinata quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening, but Naruto and Sakura were both trying to convince an unwilling Sasuke to sing. Shino had silently sat down on her other side apparently. “It’s okay Hinata” Shino said, “Why? Because we will set everything up for you.”

Hinata looked down for a second before looking up and asking, “Can we get ice cream?”

Kiba laughed as he grabbed her shoulder, “that’s the brave Hinata I’m proud of!” He then turned around to see Sasuke singing unenthusiastically as Naruto and Sakura laughed and clapped along.

Kiba yelled at them, grabbing their attention. Interrupting a now grateful Sasuke. “Hey guys! Y’all want ice cream? Shino’s paying!.” “Alright!” Naruto and Sakura both shouted, pumping their arms in the air.

They ordered their ice cream, thankfully they didn’t have to leave because the karaoke place had quite a few choices on their menu. Naruto and Sakura were chatting once again, but this time Sasuke had got into an interesting conversation with Shino.

“Alright Hinata, it’s time.” Kiba said as he leaned over towards her.

“R-right, I’m ready.” Hinata said, being confident in herself for the first time since they went to the karaoke place.

“Hey, Naruto!” Kiba said switching seats to start a conversation with Naruto, but winking at Hinata before leaving. Hinata was still nervous though, so she looked to Shino who gave her a thumbs up. She gulped and turned to Sakura, who was now sitting beside her thanks to Kiba moving.

“Sa-a-akura…” She started, getting the know lonesome Sakura’s attention.

“Yeah Hinata?”

“I was wondering… who you thr-three were going to prom with.” She asked, fiddling her spoon in her ice cream.

“Oh well, I assume Naruto, Sasuke, and I are just going to go as a group. Why do you ask?” Sakura smiled as she thought those plans were gonna change, cause surely Hinata was gonna ask her about Naru-

“Will you go with me”

“Huh?’ Sakura looked at her, surprise clearly written on her face. “W-what?” She asked.

Hinata blushed and looked down. “To p-prom I mean… will you go w-with m-me.”

Sakura blushed too this time. “O-oh” But then she laughed and her blush went away, “I thought you were gonna ask me if Naruto would be willing to take you, I didn’t know you wanted to make it a girl’s night! Maybe I can get Ino to come along too, though she probably has a date alre-”

“N-no!” Hinata said suddenly putting her hand up.

Sakura looked at her with surprise once again.

“I-I mean you got it wrong Sakura.” Hinata held her hand up to her chest and looked away. “I… I l-like Naruto but… I realised in middle school that I just looked up to him. I w-wanted to be him, for him to guide me… but I don’t want to be with him.. Like that I mean…”

Hinata looked back up at Sakura, this time with confidence in her eyes.

“I like like you Sakura… and I want to go to prom with you as y-your date.

Sakura began to blush again, but this time even harder as she realized Hinata was serious.

“I… didn’t think you thought of me like that….” Sakura said.

Hinata’s confidence began to waiver as she waited for Sakura’s reply.

“I-it’s okay i-if you don’t w-want to go with m-me though…”

“I would love to go with you!” Sakura said to both of their surprise.

“Y-you would!?” Hinata asked, her eyes wide.

“Yes! I think you’re sweet and.. I…. like girls…” Sakura said as she looked away this time.

“....You’re…. Cute….” Sakura muttered.

Hinata blushed more than she ever blushed that day after hearing that. But then she smiled. Sakura looked up to see her smile and smiled too.

“So.. prom then?” Sakura said.

“Yes!” Hinata replied.

Sakura laughed�� “Man, who would’ve thought you’d ask me out first.” To which Hinata blushed.

Prom was going to be great, she thought.

[alphacrone]

The Origin of the Bittle-Zimmermann Cruel Jam Empire (Another Non-NHL!Jack fic)

[Sequel to this fic]

CW: FOOD, mentions of real people

“Alright, so I got so stressed out about the exam I had today that I made a couple things of jam,” Bittle said as he swept into Jack’s apartment. He’d had his own key since Jack had gotten the place, and he abused that privilege on an almost daily basis. If it had been anyone else, Jack would have regretted living so close to campus.

“What’s ‘a couple?’” Jack asked without looking up from his laptop.

Bittle huffed and set a box down on Jack’s table with a small thud. “I plead the fifth,” he said, hand on his hip.

“Mhmm.” Jack raised an eyebrow, standing to peer inside at the half dozen mason jars. “What’re today’s flavors?”

“Three things of strawberry rhubarb -- I experimented with adding vanilla and nutmeg -- and jalapeño jam, which everyone back home loves to use for holiday parties and whatnot. Goes great with cream cheese and crackers.”

“Because I throw so many parties,” Jack chirped.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Bittle asked, bustling around to grab himself a cup of water. “We’re hosting a holiday party before everyone goes home. Not a big thing,” he added quickly at Jack’s frown. “Me, you, the gang, the Frogs…”

“Matt?” Jack asked far too casually.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Bittle said, frowning down at the sink. “Things have been kind of weird with him lately. I think he’s gonna break up with me.”

Jack gritted his teeth. Sure, he wasn’t Matt’s biggest fan, but he didn’t the guy was that stupid. “His loss,” he managed to say, switching over from his assignment to his Gmail account to try and distract himself. There were three new emails waiting for him: one from his parents, checking in; one from his bank with his daily checking account balance; and one, surprisingly, from Georgia Martin.

“You’re sweet,” Bittle said sadly, sitting down across from Jack. “But he’s, like, way out of my league. I never stood a chance.”

Jack frowned, mouse hovering over George’s name. “Bittle, he’s out of your league because he’s- he’s little league and you’re- you’re fucking Peyton Manning.”

Bittle chewed on his bottom lip, looking pleased. “Thanks, Jack.”

“Just stating facts,” he replied, opening George’s email and skimming the contents. “Huh…”

“What?” Bittle cast him a curious glance.

“I have an email from George Martin- you remember her, right? She was the AGM who knocked you over while you were Tweeting your way to class.” Bittle glared at him but nodded. “She’s just...I don’t know. Checking up on me. Making sure I’m doing okay, asking if there’s anything I need from her. That’s...nice.”

Bittle cooed. “What a sweet lady. I should send her some jam.”

“We’ve got plenty,” Jack mildly. Bittle scoffed.

“There’s a whole case left at the Haus. I’m giving some to Farmer for the volleyball team, and some to Atley for being the best advisor ever, but I think I can definitely spare one or five jars. And make some bread to go with it.”

“Here,” Jack said, pulling his wallet from his pocket. “Use my card for the shipping.” “Jack, I couldn’t-” Bittle started, but stopped at the look Jack cast him. “Alright, thank you. The Sin Bin’s been running a bit low since March and Ransom broke up and Holster declared a moratorium on Nursey using the word ‘hashtag’ in conversations with Dex.”

Jack chuckled and shook his head. “You know, you can always count on me to be your personal Sin Bin. You don’t have to pay for all of your baking from fines and Christmas money from Moomaw.”

Bitty sighed. “You know I can’t do that, Jack. Plus, I have two whole jobs now! They don’t pay much, but they definitely fun my butter obsession.”

Jack sighed fondly, holding back a smile. Bittle had managed to get a job over the summer filming video blogs for the administration office’s YouTube channel. It was a weak attempt on their end to attract students to Samwell, but Bittle loved it to death -- and he’d been so good at it, they’d offered him a position as a tour guide. Neither was more than a few hours a week and both were minimum wage, but they made Bittle happy and gave him some sense of financial independence, no matter how inconsequential.

“Okay,” Jack said placatingly. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Only if you’re ordering Thai,” Bittle teased.

Jack rolled his eyes fondly and opened up his phone, thumb already on the GrubHub icon.

The holiday party was as low-key as Bittle had promised. Matt had broken up with him, but Bittle didn’t seem too upset. Ransom and Holster were so burned out from finals and the season that they didn’t even try to bring a keg, and Shitty brought a whole sack full of presents for everyone, poorly wrapped in “non-denominational, boss-ass snowman” wrapping paper. Nursey and Dex seemed to fighting less, and Chowder brought Farmer, who was always really nice to Jack. They sat around Jack’s tiny living room, eating jalapeño jelly on crackers with cream cheese and drinking wine that actually came from a bottle.

“I feel so adult,” Bittle whispered to Jack, cheeks flushed from the alcohol. “It’s like the New Year’s parties my parents always go to.”

Jack grinned down at him and helped himself to some of the artichoke dip that had just been pulled from the oven. “You’ll be 21 in a few months, Bittle,” he said. “Soon you’ll be old and boring like me.”

“Shh,” Bittle shushed. “Will not.”

“Oh, did I tell you?” Jack sat up a little straighter, trying not to feel excited when Bittle leaned into his space. “George wrote a thank you note for the jam and bread you sent over. Apparently,” he continued, leaning over to grab his own glass of water. “Alexei Mashkov had some -- they brunch, or something -- and was asking her for your contact info. I can pass that along, if you want.”

“Oh!” Bittle held a hand to his mouth. “An NHL star wants my jam?”

“What?” Holster looked over at them. “Bits, are you boning a pro athlete?”

“No!” Bittle gasped loudly. “Alexei Mashkov wants my actual jam, the kind I make in a kitchen.”

“Dude, what?!” Ransom jumped up, eyes wide with excitement. “You’ve talked to Mashkov?!”

“No,” Bittle repeated, looking frustrated. Jack casually leaned over to grab the wine from the coffee table and pour Bittle another glass. “Jack talked to Geo- the Falconers’ GM recently and she was so nice I sent her a care package and she shared it with Mashkov and now, apparently, he wants some for himself. Which I am happy to do,” he said, turning to Jack.

“Cool,” Jack said. “So that’s, what, $5 a jar, $6? How much for the bread?”

“What? Don’t be silly,” Bittle said, stunned. “I can’t charge him.”

“Why not?” Lardo asked, head tilted to the side.

“That’d be rude!”

Shitty snorted. “Bits, I think that’s small change for someone like him.”

“It was a gift for Ms. Martin,” Bittle said sternly. “So it would be a gift for Mr. Mashkov as well.”

“But you don’t know him,” Ransom argued, looking a little too disappointed at that fact. “And he hasn’t done anything for you, like favors or whatever. Obviously he should pay you, at least for the cost of supplies.”

Bittle huffed, looking worked up, so Jack squeezed his shoulder and said, “Bud, Mashkov wouldn’t see it as rude. George’s words were, and I quote, ‘Mashkov really wants to order some jam from Bittle.’”

This seemed to sway Bittle. “Well, if that’s what she said…But the bread is gonna be complimentary, got it?”

“Dude, you could sell this shit for a hundred bucks and people would buy it,” Ransom said around a mouthful of crackers and jam. “It’s that good.”

“Oh, stop,” Bittle said, frowning. “Let’s open presents. Ooh, wine.” He noticed his newly-filled glass and took it happily. “I made all’ve y’all food and stuff, in those baskets over there. Merry Christmas.”

Shitty collapsed on top of Bittle, nearly spilling his wine, and kissed his face all over with glee. Ransom and Holster immediately began stealing things from each other’s baskets, and Lardo stole from both of theirs while they were distracted. Jack leaned back and watched his friends, feeling calm and content and confident that he was right where he belonged.

A few days after Jack returned to Samwell from his winter break in Montreal, he received a text from an unknown number with a 401 area code. He opened it, curious, and grinned as he read the message.

From (401) 680-XXXX: Jack Zimmermann! George gave me ur number, hope that’s OK. A few friends would like to order jam. And bread! Will pay for bread this time )))

With a laugh, Jack pulled up Bittle’s number and slowly tapped out a text.

To Bittle: Alexei Mashkov says friends of his would like to order jam and bread. He emphasized that his friends would be paying for their bread.

The reply was almost instantaneous.

From Bittle: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😱😱😱

From Bittle: ARE YOU SERIOUS

To Bittle: Yeah, bud. Your jam is good.

From Bittle: Oh, it’s really not. But I’m glad people like it.

To Bittle: I’ll text him back and see what the order is. Do you think you could get him an ETA after that?

From Bittle: YESSIR! 😉

Jack stared at the winky-face emoji for an embarrassingly long time, wondering why his cheeks felt so hot and his heart so light.  

It was a few weeks later that Jack received a large envelope. For a few minutes, he wondered why someone had sent him a huge wad of cash and several checks, then remembered the order he’d organized before classes started. Checking that he had time, Jack grabbed his bag and his laptop and headed out on the ten minute walk to the Haus, feeling happy as the chill of January nipped at his skin.

When he arrived, Bittle was sitting at the kitchen table studying, wrapped in a large sweatshirt he’d stolen from Jack before break. Underneath he wore what looked like two sweaters and a scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Mail call,” Jack said, throwing the envelope onto the table. Bittle looked at it, confused, then peeked inside.

“Oh, goodness,” he said, pulling out the wad of cash. “This is- this is too much-”

“It’s the amount we agreed on,” Jack said, sitting down across from Bittle. “Six dollars per jar, three for a loaf of bread. They ordered a lot of jam.”

“Oh,” Bittle said again, staring at the money like he’d never seen such a thing before. “Gosh.”

“People like homemade food, especially things that keep like jams and preserves,” Jack said, quoting the many market studies he’d...perused over break. “Because it’s homey but not something they would want to make themselves, the average, upper-middle-class consumer doesn’t mind spending a little extra money on this kind of quality good. Plus, your stuff is abnormally delicious, Bittle,” he added sternly. “If you’re willing to put in the work with this jam stuff, people will be willing to pay.”

By the end of his speech, Bittle’s mouth was agape. “Was that…?” He began, looking a little shellshocked. “Was that a business proposal?”

Jack shrugged. “Sort of.”

“Huh.” Bittle looked down at the money again. “Well.”

“I’ve gotta get to class,” Jack said, clapping Bittle on the back. “You think about it. And don’t spend all of that on butter, got it?”

Bittle rolled his eyes. “Bye, Jack. Oh! Wait! Try this before you go.”

Jack ended up five minutes late to class with an entire tupperware of shortbread cookies. No one, not even the professor, seemed to notice his tardiness after he offered to share with the whole class. It was a fair trade; there were always more cookies to be found when Bittle was around.

“But what would we call it?” Bittle asked on Valentine’s Day as he mixed a new batch of blueberry jam for Mashkov (“Call me Tater!”), Robinson, St. Martin, George, and several people whom Jack believed to be players on teams other than the Falcs. “Also, do you think they’d mind if I sent samples of my apple butter? I made too much and there’s no way the boys’ll eat it all…”

“I don’t know, ‘Bittle’s Kitchen’?” Jack said, sketching out a rough business model on the back of a Jiffy Lube receipt. “And I think Tater would ask you to marry him if you sent him free apple butter.”

“It would be a partnership, we’re not putting my name in there without yours next to it.” Bittle sighed, mouth pursed as he fell into thought. “Are there any good jam puns? ‘This is My Jam?’”

“Door jam, paper jam, traffic jam,” Jack listed off. “Jam It.”

“Funny,” Bittle said drily.

Jack laughed. “I don’t think you should limit yourself. What if everyone loves your apple butter more than your jam?”

“You bite your tongue,” Bittle said, waving his spoon at Jack. “My jam recipe has been perfected over several years, the ultimate hybrid between my mama’s recipe and my Aunt Judy’s, with my own flare, obviously. There ain’t any jam tastier than this north of the Mason-Dixon.”

“Sure,” Jack said easily, grinning up at Bittle. “I still like ‘Bittle’s Kitchen.’”

“Of course you do,” Bittle sighed. “Do your parents want any of this, by the way? I’ll probably have leftovers.”

“My parents want to adopt you,” Jack said, returning to his doodling. “So, yes. Anything and everything you’ve got.”

“Tim Gunn wants how many things of apple butter before his brunch next month?”

“Maman says a dozen.”

“And no jam?”

“Jam’s not in this season. Apparently he likes apples.”

“What is even happening right now?!”

“Also papa says hi.”

“...tell him I say hi back.”

<<So Mario told me that Sid asked him about jam,>> Papa said in lieu of a greeting during their monthly phone call. This call had been one of his parents’ stipulations before they agreed to pay for grad school. At first it had made Jack feel like a child who needed to be monitored, but halfway through his second semester he found he enjoyed talking to his parents.

<<I’ll put him on the waitlist. You have an order or just an inquiry?>> Jack said, grabbing a pen and notepad from his bedside table.

Papa just laughed and said, <<Can I give him your phone number?>>

<<Sure,>> Jack said. <<That’ll simplify things. Now tell me about that gala Maman’s been working on all month.>>

“What do you think of ‘Haus and Home?’”

Jack sat up straighter, eyes burning with fatigue. It was finals and he and Bittle had been working at the library together for hours. This was the first thing either of them had said in almost as long.

“For what?” Jack asked, rubbing at his temples. It was probably time to pack up and head home. The Haus was closer, and he wondered if Bittle would let him crash on the couch if he put a towel down first.

“The jam...thing,” Bittle said hesitantly. He looked as tired as Jack felt. “Y’know, because this all happens in the Haus kitchen and it’s been our home for years now and it just feels...right.”

“I like it,” Jack said, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s good.”

“Good,” Bittle said, meeting Jack’s smile with his own. “Alright, let’s head off to bed. I think I’m about to pass out.”

“Okay,” Jack said, closing his laptop and shoveling books back into his bag. “Can I-?”

“Do you want herpes?” Bittle asked crossly. “Because that’ll be least of your worries if you sleep on that couch.”

“Bittle.”

“I will walk you home, you big baby,” Bittle said, standing and packing his things. “C’mon.”

Bittle did end up walking Jack home. He also ended up sleeping on Jack’s loveseat, covered in the throw blanket his mother had sent Jack for his birthday. Jack smiled down at the sight of Bittle passed out on his couch, dead to the world, and wandered into his bedroom to write one last email before crashing himself.

“What?”

Bittle stared at the computer, both hands over his mouth.

Though he’d lived with Jack over the summer, working full-time for the admissions office, Bittle had been kept completely in the dark about this particular project.

“Lardo and I have been working on this logo on and off since May,” Jack said, grinning at Bittle actually leaned over to stroke the laptop screen. “I paid her, of course, so it’s kind of...official.”

“Oh, my gosh…” Bittle whispered, then Jack found himself pulled into a tight hug. “Oh, this is too wonderful! Jack, this is amazing, this is-! Oh!” He buried his face in Jack’s chest. “We have a logo.”

“We do.”

“A real logo!”

“Yep.”

“You know what this means?” Bittle asked, looking straight up at Jack.

“What?” He asked, all too aware of how close their faces were.

“Lardo’s a professional designer!” He cried, grinning widely. “She designed a logo for money -- she’s a professional! This is so exciting.”

“Bittle.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said softly, pressing his cheek to Jack’s shoulder. “Are we really doing this?”

“I think we are.”

“Wow. I...wow.”

“Yeah. Seconded.”

Bittle’s senior year was busy, full of ups and downs. He was captain and led the team to victory at the Frozen Four, something that filled Jack with so much pride he thought he might burst. Bittle also came out to his parents, which had been a mixed bag of emotions, but things slowly seemed to be heading in a positive direction. There had been the long, drawn-out horror of Bittle trying to write a thesis, but after many sleepless nights he got through it. Professor Atley would be receiving a lifetime supply of free Haus & Home goods for all she did to aid Bittle, of that Jack was certain.

Jack’s last year of his MBA went pretty smoothly. He worked part-time in the sales department of a video streaming company in Boston proper, which was challenging in its own ways, but Jack found he really did enjoy managing accounts and developing sales strategies in tandem with the marketing team. He learned more in that job that he had in his actual MBA program, he felt, but both were preparing him to take this leap with Bittle. As scary as it was, Jack felt calm and confident in the risk he was about to take. Everything seemed easier when Bittle was by his side.

His birthday/graduation present to Bittle came in two parts: the first was a notebook filled with two-bedroom apartment listings all around the area, keeping close to their friends and within their budget; the second was a URL written down inside a sparkly card shaped like a mortarboard.

“Jack…” Bittle breathed, clutching at Jack’s arm as he pulled the website up on his laptop -- one of the few things he had yet to pack, though graduation was only a week away. “This is…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t include you in the creative process,” Jack said sheepishly. “I just wanted it to be a surprise. I gave Dex and Chowder a bunch of your pinterest boards in preparation.”

Bittle smiled up at him with wide, shining eyes. “Jack, it’s beautiful. Dex and Chowder made this?”

“They did. We’re almost there, bud.”

Bittle hugged him tight. “Okay, mister, I love these surprises, but no more decisions without me, okay? Ugh, I could stare at this website forever. Look at it. Jack, it’s ours. This whole...thing is ours.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Happy Birthday.”

“Happy Graduation,” Bittle said, raising the cup of beer someone had handed him in the midst of the party that was raging downstairs. “To the future.”

“The future,” Jack repeated. “And the present.”

“Was that a pun?” Bittle asked. “I’m disowning you if that was a pun.”

“Let’s get back downstairs,” Jack said, wrapping an arm around Bittle’s shoulders. “And enjoy being college students a little longer.”

“Sounds good,” Bittle said, leaning against Jack’s side. He stayed there for the rest of the party, and Jack’s face hurt from smiling so much by the end.

[My writing tag]

[The Non-NHL!Jack AU]

[My online novel, The Discourt Knife]

[iamthestrangerinmoscow]

Nail Polish

Doctor Who, rated G, ~2000 words, Thoschei/Twissy implied

Just a fun little thing I wrote about Theta Sigma, Koschei and bottle of black nail polish. 

-...if you flip to section 13 point 4 of your books, you will find another, more detailed explanation of this theorem. Pay attention to calculations for secondary elements, especially combinatorial topological spaces. - The Professor lifted his tired eyes from the holographic lightboard and peered into the lecture hall. Four thousand years of teaching the same course, again and again, and barely any satisfaction. - Do you have any questions?

Evidently, the students didn't have questions. Most of them didn't even care about the subject at all, and certainly not this early in the morning. A few young Time Lords were dozing off at the top row of seats, not having slept for a week or so. Some were chatting telepathically, mouths covered to conceal giggles. Two or three were scribbling in High Gallifreyan, trying to finish homework that was already late. Barely anyone even knew what the Professor was talking about.

In the center of the hall, right next to an ancient column, sat two students who irritated the Professor the most – Theta Sigma and Koschei, as they called themselves. The first one was pale and skinny, with forever messy fair hair and a smile that stole many hearts. The second had the bluest blue eyes you have ever seen, and a bit patchy goatee beard. Instead of making notes, Theta was currently painting Koschei's nails with a black nail polish. He was nearly finished with his right hand, and was about to start on the left.

One of the girls on the left side of the hall was watching them with a smile on her face.

-Ushas? - She called, turning to her right.

-What? - Ushas was one of the few students who actually wanted to study, so she didn't appreciate the interruptions.

-Is Theta and Kosch... you know... a thing?

Ushas smirked. - He wishes. - She replied, pointing at Theta.

-Does that mean I have a chance with him?

-Probably. I mean, he has already hooked up with half the students his age, so...

The other girl looked surprised.

-Compensating. - Ushas shrugged.

At that point most of the people in the hall were staring at Koschei and Theta, amazed by their level of insolence. Rebellion was pretty much removed out of Time Lord genetic code a long time ago. Therefore breaking the rules like that was really rare, and, as a consequence, really cool. Unfortunately, students weren't the only ones who noticed the little rebellion.

-Am I interrupting you, by any chance? - He said, looking at the two friends with disapproval.

-No-no, it's fine. - Theta replied, now applying nail polish to Koschei's left pinky finger. - Carry on.

The hall roared with laughter.

-Perhaps you know how to prove this theorem then? - Professor asked, raising his eyebrows.

-I do, actually. - Koschei said, his voice calm and dry.

The Professor let out a single high-pitched laugh, bewildered by such a preposterous and arrogant claim. - Ridiculous! I've been a math teacher my entire life, and I can assure you, young man, that you don't. Dozens of Time Lords and Time Ladies have tried for thousands of years, scholars much wiser than you or me, and all have failed.

-But I can prove it. - Koschei insisted, carefully removing his hand from Theta's grasp. - Did that when I was seventy four.

-Well, why don't you show us then? - The Professor suggested, sitting down at his desk.

-No problem. - Koschei got up and walked down the steps, his oversized robes dragging on the floor behind him.

He approached the lightboard and glanced at his hands. Realizing that he can't use his right hand, he placed it behind his back and started writing with elegant movements of his left index finger. While he was writing, he mumbled something under his breath. Only five minutes later he placed a final symbol on the lightboard and stepped back, admiring his work.

-That's roughly it. - He said, returning to his desk, and taking the nail polish from the table to finish the work himself. - Go figure.

The Professor was reading the calculations frantically, eyes wide in bewilderment. On the left of the hall Ushas scratched her chin, rather impressed. She turned to the girl who was sitting next to her.

-Looks like he did prove it. - She said. - Damn.

-Impossible! - The Professor declared. - This is too simple, too obvious. Someone would have thought of it ages ago!

-But it does prove it. - Koschei told him. - Perhaps the wise scholars weren't that wise after all.

The Professor was still in denial. -Class dismissed! - He announced, and everyone jumped up from their seats.

-Thanks, mate! - Mortimus and Drax both saluted Koschei as they were leaving the room.

Magnus even snapped a photo of the poor Professor, his world shattered to pieces by one small equation.

-Do you want to get some food? - Theta Sigma asked, once they entered the lengthy corridor outside the hall.

-Might as well. - Koschei replied, and followed his best friend.

***

Koschei was sitting in a small, round room which must have belonged to a professor of the Academy. It was full of ancient books, obscure pieces of tech and relics of the past. He sat in a comfy armchair, feet up on the table, reading one of the old texts someone left unsupervised. It wasn't very entertaining.

At last the front door has opened, and a Time Lady stepped inside. She didn't look a day older Koschei, despite having lived a very long life and now being at her last regeneration.

-This is absurd. - Koschei proclaimed, not even looking up from the text. - You can't punish me for proving a theorem!

-Who said anything about punishment? - The Time Lady smiled, coming closer to the table.

He finally put the text down to see her for the first time, and realizing who she was immediately removed his feet from the table.

-Lady Cardinal. - He said, more than a little bit surprised.

-Indeed. - She nodded. - However I am not here as the Cardinal of the Prydonian Chapter, but rather as a scholar of math – one of those you called not so wise after all.

Koschei wasn't intimidated by her in the slightest. - It's a simple solution.

-It is. - She agreed. - And an elegant one too. It takes skill, and knowledge, and also imagination to come up with something like that. All the things I look for in my students. You could be one of them soon: work with advanced material, things you can't find in your textbooks. What do you think, Lord of Oakdown?

-Oh please, Lord of Oakdown is my father. And my grandfather. And all of my cousins. Call me Koschei.

-Koschei. - Lady Cardinal repeated. - Academy nicknames weren't so exotic in my time as a student. What does it mean?

-It's from an Earth fairytale. - He explained. - It is a name of a magical being. Powerful, intelligent and immortal. All the things I strive to be.

-Oh yes, I know your friend, Lord of Lungbarrow, is obsessed with Earth cultures.

-Obsessed is a strong word. - Koschei said. - Theta is curious, that's all. Curious beyond my understanding. That alien cultures course we took was the definition of boring, and he still enjoyed.

-Couldn't have been that boring, if you learned something from it. - She put her hand in her pocket and took out a tiny bottle of nail polish she picked up in the lecture hall. - Yours, I presume?

Koschei took the bottle from her hand and hid it in his bag, leaving her remark unanswered.

-I won't keep you here any longer. - Lady Cardinal said. - You are free to go now. Think about my offer.

-Sure. - He told her, getting up. - And if I decide to join you, maybe you would consider giving some extra credit to 'Lord of Lungbarrow'? - He asked.

Lady Cardinal chuckled. - What did he do to deserve it?

-He inspires me. - Koschei smiled, closing the door behind him.

This time, he was only partially joking.

***

Missy heard the Doctor walking even before he started messing with the Vault's opening mechanism. He had a heavy step that echoed across the universities corridors and inevitably gave away his location. As he was unlocking the door, she made an attempt to un-mess her hair, but it didn't work. So instead she leaned back in her chair and pretended to not be bothered by it.

-Good evening. - The Doctor greeted her. - Or is it good night already? I can't tell.

-You're just in time for Game of Thrones. - Missy told him.

-What's that?

-A TV-show I watch. - She said. - There's a lot of sex and drama and decapitations.

-Sounds like your thing.

-Well, we can't watch Disney all the time, can we?

They both paused for a moment, and then a smile appeared on the Doctor's face, for seemingly no reason.

-I nearly forgot. - He said, and took something out of his pocket.

He placed the object on the table in front of Missy.

-It's black nail polish. - She looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

-Do you remember it?

Missy thought for a few moments.

-Is it..?

-Yes.

-No.

-Yes it is! - The Doctor was beaming.

-How could you possibly preserve it? - Missy scoffed. - It's been hundreds of years ago!

-I am sentimental. - The Doctor shrugged. - Took it with me when I was leaving Gallifrey with Susan. Wanted to have something that reminded me of you.

She wasn't sure how to react to that.

-Did you enjoy Lady Cardinal's advanced math class? - He asked.

-Not more than the look on our math professor's face when I proved that theorem.

They both laughed, remembering that little moment of triumph. Then, without a word, the Doctor opened the nail polish bottle and gently took Missy's hand.

-You will never forgive me. - The words escaped her mouth before she had a chance to think about it. - I know you want me to be good and maybe, somehow, you will actually believe that yourself, but you will never forgive me.

-Doesn't matter. - The Doctor replied. - I haven't forgiven myself either, not even for the things I technically didn't do. - He sighed, and briefly looked her in the eyes. - One day, a long time ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that we are not, in fact, that different.

She smiled with a corner of her mouth and decided not to reply.

That night the darkness resided only in the latest episode of Game of Thrones and in the intense color of her favorite nail polish.

[salty-dracon]

SA Hunters: Chapter 5

(Featuring my RWBY OCs as a bunch of teenage vampires with a group chat who are somewhat good with weapons. They’re just a bunch of kids looking for fun, Adrian’s the real bad one. And yes, in canon, Angel does run a blog.)

(Sorry this took so long! If I skipped any lines or if something doesn’t make sense, I was having paste issues! Docs doesn’t work well with Tumblr anymore.)

“Look at this!” Val passed his phone to the person sitting behind him. “It’s Angel’s Tumblr blog.”

The person started to laugh. “What is he… is that supposed to be a breadstick?!”

“No no no! Read the caption!”

Val and his classmate had a good laugh. I wonder what over.

“What? What’s going on?” Brid leaned over to look at the phone. “That’s a breadstick, all right.”

“No, wait! Read the caption!”

“Tell me what you- oh, my god!” Brid laughed. “That’s hilarious!”

“Like, there’s no context behind it, right? What’s he even doing with the breadstick?!”

“Oh, no no no! I can explain the context!”

Brid began to feverently explain the context of the photo. It had something to do with a date ritual or something. Involving breadsticks.

Brid explained the picture. “It’s supposed to be like, if the other person says something you don’t agree with, you shove breadsticks in your purse and run out. He completely missed the point, though.”

“I hate this guy.”

Brid just kept laughing. “He cannot jive with the younger crowd. He’s trying, but failing.”

“Is that a picture of Angel?” I asked, looking at the picture. He was taking a selfie of himself eating a breadstick. The caption read “Tell me what you like about me~ <3”.

“Did anyone say what they liked about him?!” Brid shouted.

“Nope! No one at all!”

“A lot wrote what they hated, though.” someone else said. “Look at these. My favorite is ‘you can take your breadstick and-’”

The person flashed his phone forward just as the teacher walked into the room.

“All right, settle down, class. We’ve got a lot to do today, so no phones out. Got it?”

Everyone slipped their phones away.

“First of all, who here did the homework?”

Everyone raised their hands. Even Val, who I knew for a fact didn’t. Easy A for him, I guess. I didn’t bother to call him out.

“Good.” The teacher glanced down at her notes. “Now, when we left off yesterday, we were talking about Roman families and elite status…”

I took notes as the teacher spoke, and switched through a slideshow on her holovision. Bridget was taking notes in her book while the teacher spoke, in her prim and neat handwriting.

Male-dominated society- men cared for the family. Could decide if a baby lived or died. Held absolute power. Could disown kids at will. Kids only had allowance until father died. Women had few rights- childbirth, taking care of the house. Married off young.

“What are some drawbacks of the Roman family structure?”

Brid raised her hand. “If you’re abandoned, you’re dead or you’re a slave. Also, most of the population basically had no rights, just the eldest men in each family.”

“You’ve got the idea. Well done.”

What kind of family did Brid live in, anyhow?

------

While we were walking to our next class, I couldn’t help but stare at my feet. I wasn’t sure what to say. What could I say to the girl that knew everything?

Brid stopped at her locker and pulled a book out.

“Are you… going anywhere tonight?” I asked.

“Tonight? Um… my schedule’s kind of unpredictable.”

“Well… I want to… um… ”

“You want to?”

“Hang out. I… want to hang out. With you. As, um… friends. You know.”

“Hang out as friends?”

God, I sound so stupid… “Yeah… ”

“We are friends.”

“Yeah… ”

“I might be able to come to your house around five tonight. How about that?”

“Really? Um, that’d be great.”

“Great. See you then.” Brid fetched her book and walked away.

Oh god. What have I done?!

-------

“You did WHAT?!” Sam spit out a mouthful of lemon water. We were finishing up our homework on the couch.

“Does that technically count as a-”

“It totally does! Lu, you’re moving up in the world!”

“Woah woah woah! I… I can’t set up for a date in my own house! How am I supposed to do that?!”

“Do you know anything about her?”

“She was playing this video game-”

“Video game! Sweet! I can set her up with some Quantum Knights!” Sam was about to pull up the game on our TV.

“Oh no, not a shooty one. Like, a story one.”

“Um… Stronghold 2?” Sam pulled up another game.

“I don’t know.”

“No. I’ve got it. It’s the one game every girl loves.” Sam began to surf through the App Store on his phone. “Howlers! It’s a dating sim that just came out, and I heard-”

“Sam, she’s on a date with ME.”

“It’s a good story-based game too, y’know.”

“We’ll figure out something.”

“What about food?” Sam walked to the kitchen.

“I was thinking of running down to Camelo to grab some bubble tea, but I don’t know… ”

“Things would be less awkward if you just… cooked.”

“We can just get chips. How about that? Ugh, setting up a date is so much work.”

“At least you did it. Hold on, I’m going to look something up.” Sam pulled out his phone and typed in the words “video games for girls”. “Hey, question.” he said. “Does she like Japanese and Korean games?”

“I don’t know.” I was starting to think that this was a bad idea. Here I was, inviting her home for a date, and I didn’t even know what she liked. All I knew was that she studied. A lot. She seemed so lonely.

“Oh. My Only is a really good one. That’s kind of a horror game though. Oh my god. Look at this one. Imagine if-”

“We’ll figure this out when she gets here, okay? I can’t think about it anymore.”

Our cell phones vibrated.

“Quantum Knights Graphics Update?” Sam asked, reading the name of the article.

“Same.” I looked at the article on my phone and scrolled to the bottom. The code at the bottom deciphered itself, revealing the words “Vampire gang taking over town streets. Aiming for certain important allies.”

-------

“Who’s the ally?” I asked the computer in the car.

“I am not authorized to disclose that kind of information.” it replied.

“All right. I’m just saying that if we knew, we could-”

“Your job is to protect and evacuate the ally and his family. If it becomes necessary to disclose the identity of the ally, we will do so.”

“All right.”

“No use arguing with a computer.” Sam laughed.

-----

The western end of town.

Before Rubicon City was, well, a city, there used to be a town out here. Melrose, Vermont. Eventually, the little town and its below-middle-class residents were engulfed by the miracle that became Rubicon City. Eventually they became wealthy and moved. There’s about half a mile of woods between one house and the next. The only signs of civilization are brightly colored mailboxes and dirt paths into the depths of the forest. I can’t imagine who would live out here.

I was about to climb out of the car, but I heard a shout from the monitor.

“Wait. Scanning for predators. All clear.”

Sam and I crawled out of the car. I pulled on night vision goggles and looked for signs of movement.

“Should I pull on heat vision goggles?”

“Just in case.” I said. “Where’s the target’s house?”

“It’s the house you are in front of. Hurry.”

I nodded at Sam and we ran into the deep woods.

--------

A vampire with red hair and red eyes was sitting in a tree, reading messages on a phone. His phone dinged as he received a new one. Next to the message was a yellow icon.

visitors

The vampire growled and texted back.

what kinds of visitors?

The vampire recieved a picture in response, of a boy and a girl running out of a black van. He smiled and texted a message back.

don’t touch the car. eliminate the humans before they reach the house.

----------

“I see something.” Sam pointed to a tree in the distance.

“Where?”

“In that evergreen tree. It’s really tiny.”

I turned up the night vision factor. There was a girl sitting in a tall tree, texting on a phone.

“What is she doing?” I asked.

I saw a flash of light. The girl had taken a picture of herself. She then continued to text.

“I can’t tell if that’s a vampire or just a regular person.” I said, squinting my eyes for a closer look.

“Heat vision’s not picking up her body, just her phone. I��d say vampire.”

“Time to eliminate-”

Behind us, we heard a twig snap. A raccoon had jumped out of a tree and was running on the ground. Nevertheless, the girl turned towards us. We watched her point a HUGE sniper rifle at us. She texted another message on her phone.

Sam whispered. “Maybe we can negotiate if we capture one of the gang members.”

“Forget that! How’d she get a full-on sniper rifle?!”

The vampire girl peered through the scope of her rifle. I hissed an order to Sam, and we ran in different directions, hiding behind trees. The vampire shot at me. The shot embedded itself in a tree. Another one made the bark above my head explode. Feeling around the ground, I found a rock and threw it against a tree a short distance away. The vampire’s attention shifted from her phone to the tree. While she was distracted, I pulled my crossbow out and shot blindly at the girl, hoping at least I had landed a hit somewhere. A bullet whizzed past my arm and I heard her shout. Looks like my shot had met its mark. The next second, I heard struggling and shouting.

“Get off!”

“Give me that phone!”

“I’ll bite you!”

“Oh, Jesus!”

“No! Don’t-”

I heard a thud.

“Lu! She’s down!”

I ran over to Sam. He was standing next to the girl’s tree, looking like the wind had been knocked out of him.

“Y’all right?”

“Yeah. She’s down and I got her phone.”

Below us, the girl laid unconscious in the grass. At least, she was faking it, since vampires can’t be knocked out that easily. Her phone lay a few feet away. I picked it up and read the most recent messages.

“How many in the chat?” Sam asked.

“Four others. Let’s call them… Red, Blue, Orange, and Yellow.” I pointed to colored icons next to the names of her other contacts. “And the one we just captured is Green.” I looked back at the most recent chat.

Orange: good to go

Yellow: stationed at entrance

Green: in position

Red: lark hurry up

Blue: ready

Red: good. make sure we don’t have any visitors.

Orange: good luck guys

Green: thx mai

Blue: :)

Yellow: visitors

Red: what kinds of visitors?

Yellow: [a picture of us]

Red: don’t touch the car. eliminate the humans before they reach the house.

Green: how are you doing, adri? [a picture of a tree trunk]

Green: dammit, i still don’t show up

Blue: wear makeup

Red: any sign of the humans?

Green: i see them

Red: kill them

Green: of course sweetie <3

Red: just kill them nari

Green, apparently “Nari”, was in the process of typing another message- “got em”. Of course, now she was on the ground, feigning unconsciousness.

“What should we do with her?” Sam asked.

“Keep the phone active. Get the rifle away from her before she fires it again.”

As I spoke, another text appeared.

Red: did you take care of them?

“Text back, and say yes.” Sam said. “Let them think we’re dead.”

“Good idea.”

I typed in “yes”. The message sent. Then, we began to receive more.

Blue: lol

Orange: whats so funny

Blue: sum1 pls check on nari

Orange: y?

Blue: she never says yes

Blue: she always says “yeah”

Yellow: omg ur rite, ill check

“They’re onto us!” I whispered. “Come on. We need to get to the ally and evacuate their family.”

We tried to move quietly through the woods, but we heard the sound of a squirrel jumping from tree to tree above us. Green’s phone buzzed again.

Yellow: nari they stole your phone

Yellow: nari

Yellow: nari they stole your phone

Red: she can’t read the stolen phone you idiot

Yellow: gotcha

Yellow: she says shes pissed

“Green’s up. Come on, we need to move!”

We continued to dodge and weave our way through the woods when we received another text.

Blue: i see something

We froze.

Blue: nvm squirrel

Blue: im hungry

Blue: gonna grab dinner :P

Orange: i have some water if ur thirsty

Red: stay on topic.

Red: we will be moving to capture the house once we get rid of the visitors.

Blue: sorry :(

“Their chat looks like ours, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean, our chat?”

“I mean, it’s like my crew’s group chat.”

“You’re right.” I resisted the urge to smile at the chat, which to me, sounded like a group of friends talking.

“Sometimes I wonder why they became vampires. Don’t they get to chat like this as humans, like the rest of us?”

“Yeah. About gossip, and video games-” Wait… Oh, crap. “VIDEO GAMES! OH NO!”

I shouted that last part.

“Lu. What. Was. That.”

“Brid’s date! She’s probably hanging out all alone! Oh my god, I promised her a fun night, and she’s probably alone and bored out there! Oh my god, I’m an idiot!”

“Not so loud!” Sam hushed me down. “They’re trying to kill us!”

“Right, sorry.”

Narin’s phone buzzed again.

Orange: I HEARD THEM

Blue: will find them. weapons at the ready.

Yellow: how many arrows can you shoot at once again lark

Blue: three

Yellow: hawt <3

Yellow: that was nari

Blue: thx

Red: they know our movements.

Red: no more texting. kill them.

“Aaaand now we’re dead.”

“Not if we move fast, we’re not!” I grabbed Sam’s arm. We dodged erratically through the woods towards our target, staying within sight of the dirt path that led to the house in the woods. I tried not to make any sound, but I gave up after I nearly fell into a tiny creek.

As we were dodging through, avoiding gunshots, a girl with long braided hair jumped in front of us. “What’s up, hunters?” She made a “slit your throat” motion.

“Who’s she?!” Sam exclaimed, pointing at the girl. She had black baseball grease under her eyes and twirled brass knuckles in her hands.

“A vampire, genius.” I muttered.

“Tawny, get down here! There’s two!” the girl shouted.

A boy jumped onto the forest floor behind us and pulled two switchblades out of his pockets. He twirled both of them in his hands.

“This is getting a bit scary.” Sam whispered in my ear.

“Well, it should be.” The vampire girl cracked her knuckles. “We’re going to beat the crap out of you, and you’d better enjoy it.”

“Wait, so are you Orange or-”

“She’s not orange, she’s Maiya.” Tawny chimed in.

“Oh, the chat? I’m orange, Tawny is yellow. Not that we’ll let you stick around long enough to remember that.”

“Is Orange going to actually attack us?” Sam reached into his jacket pocket. “Because if she does, she’s more bark than bite.”

Orange promptly punched Sam in the shoulder. I was about to say he deserved it, when Orange pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Sam’s cheek. I shot her in the stomach with my crossbow. Yellow grabbed me from behind, but Sam grabbed him, snapped his neck, and shot him. We nodded at each other and kept running. Behind us, their bodies turned into dust.

“Two down, three to go.” I whispered. “So we took out Orange and Yellow. That leaves Green, Blue, and Red. Red’s the leader. Blue and Green are snipers.”

“Look. That’s the house.”

It was, as the computer said, a house in the middle of the woods. Its front lawn was a mess of statues, piles of wood, and toys.

“Lots of gargoyles.” I whispered. “Where did those come from?”

“No vampire DNA.” Sam scanned the statues. “They’re just decoration.”

“Let’s knock.”

“Lumi, do you see anything around us?”

I scanned the skies, seeing no signs of vampires. “No.”

Sam rang the doorbell.

I heard the leaves stir behind me.

“Watch out!” Three arrows shot themselves towards us. We stepped aside. All three landed in the door.

“They followed us!” Sam mumbled. “Great, now they’re onto us! How are we gonna-”

From above, we heard a gunshot. Behind us, we heard a shout. Someone was pointing a rifle through a window.

“You PREPS get off my lawn!” I heard a familiar voice shout.

“There must be something wrong with the system.” I whispered. “There’s no way our contact is-”

“Yo! Get out or I’ll shoot!” The window opened wider. I watched Val blow the smoke off an old hunting rifle.

“Don’t shoot! It’s Lumi and Sam!” I shouted up.

“The hell are you two doing up this late?!” Val shouted.

“Long story! Listen, do you have family?”

“What do you think?!”

I looked around. “No?”

“Of course I do! I’ve got two twin bro-cousins and an aunt and uncle!”

“Bro-cousins?” Sam asked.

“Like you, Sam.” I clarified.

“Brousins...”

“Now’s not the time.”

Val shouted again. “What kind of witchcraft are you two up to?! Wait, is this how Lumi gets perfect grades? Witchcraft?!”

“My grades aren’t- I don’t even- Val, just wake your family up and get them out of this forest!”

“You serious?!”

“Val, please!”

Sam’s phone rang. He glanced at a message. “Lu, Z called. Change of plans. The family’s too big to evacuate. We need to protect the house instead.”

“Val, listen.” I shouted up. “Your house is surrounded by a gang of dangerous people. They’re coming after your family.”

“Then what the hell are you- how did you know?!”

“Long story! Listen, if you could just make sure your entire family is hiding-”

“Hold on.” Val stumbled back into his house.

“What’s he doing?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Hold your horses!” Val shouted. “I’m getting another gun!”

“Who knew Val knew how to shoot...” I muttered.

“Unlike those preps, he likes guns.” Sam sighed. “Because he’s crazy.”

“How many are there?!” Val yelled down.

“Three!” I replied. “At least two are snipers!”

“Snipers?! Jesus. Let me call backup.”

“No, no backup. These aren’t ordinary snipers.”

“Screw that!”

“What’s he doing?” Sam whispered.

“Getting a gun. Should I tell him we have guns of our own?” I pointed to my crossbow.

“He’ll get suspicious-”

In front of us, the door opened. Val held a pistol in his mouth and two rifles in his hands.

“Is he okay?”

“He doesn’t look like he’s 100% awake.”

“Take the damn guns and kill the damn snipers.” Val began to shoot blindly into the woods.

I took the pistol and placed it on the ground. From above, I caught a glimpse of Green and Blue. They were firing bullets and arrows at us from the treetops.

“Take cover!” Sam pulled Val behind a tree. I ran behind a fence and shot crossbow bullets at them.

“I’m too far away.” I shouted. “I need to get closer if I’m going to land.”

“We’ll cover you!” Val shouted. He stepped out into the open and fired at Green. Green ducked. Blue fired six more arrows. Val dodged them. All the while, I ran through the edge of the clearing to the snipers.

“Damn, he’s good.” I heard Sam whisper through my com.

“Blue?”

“No, Val.”

“Suck it!” I heard Val shout. Then, I heard a gunshot.

I heard Green scream and hit the ground. I sunk a stake into her back before shooting down Blue, whose attention had now shifted towards me. He shot three more arrows at me, but I dodged and struck back. Finding myself in a position without anywhere to hide, I looked around. Blue was about to shoot me again, but a bullet from a rifle hit him and knocked him out of his tree. I took care of him as well and ran back to the group.

“You saw me hit that trench coat dude?!” Val shouted. “Who the hell brings a bow to a gun fight?!”

“Green and Blue are down.” I said.

“Great. Who’s left?”

“Just Red.”

“Red. I wonder how dangerous he is.”

“I don’t want to know.”

The woods were silent. There was no sign of Red.

“Should we search?”

“No. You don’t have to.”

We heard Red’s voice immediately behind us.

“Red!” Sam pointed his crossbow.

“It’s Adrian, not Red.” the vampire said. He had messy maroonish hair and red eyes, and was glaring at us. He balanced an axe on his shoulder with one hand.

“Why are you after Val?” Sam snapped.

“That boy commands power unknown to man.” Adrian said. “I want that power. No. He wants it.”

“He?”

“You know who he is.” Adrian smiled. “I’m not leaving here without my target. For his glory. And for mine.”

“Val, don’t go anywhere near him-”

Val seemed to be trying to pay attention, but drifting off into sleep.

“We’re sorry about your team.” I said. “We know they were your friends-”

“Friends?” Adrian snorted. “They were nothing but pawns. They were strong, sure, but still just pawns.”

“They meant something to you. I know they did.” Sam pointed his crossbow at Adrian. “Didn’t they?”

“Humans have friends.” Adrian advanced upon us. “Vampires have alliances. Our alliances are useful. Not fun.”

“That isn’t true!” Sam shouted. “I read your chats! They cared for each other! All of them! They were friends! Nari, and Lark, and Maiya, and Tawny-”

Adrian cackled. “That’s what made them useless. The only good thing about them was that they could follow orders.”

“You’re wrong, poser!” Val snapped. “Friends aren’t useless!” At least he was listening, I thought.

“Who are you to lecture me, anyway?” He smiled and brandished his axe. “We’ll see how the power of friendship fares against the power of true darkness.”

“Huh. You sound just like someone I used to know.” All of a sudden, Val was alert again. He pointed the rifle he was holding at Adrian. “Whether or not he lived? I’m kinda working on that. As for you? You won’t.”

He smiled and shot. The vampire dodged quickly. He threw himself at Val and slashed at him, but missed by an inch before being tackled to the ground by Sam. Adrian quickly shoved him off and was poised to strike him when I grabbed his axe and pulled him back.

“Now!” I shouted.

Sam pointed his crossbow at Adrian and shot. Adrian dodged it, avoiding a strike in the heart, but the bullet cut through his shoulder. The axe blade began to tip towards my head. Val helped me pull it out of his hands, and threw it away from him.

“Don’t let him touch that axe!” I shouted.

“Got it!” Val raced over to the axe and picked it up.

Adrian roared and threw himself at me. Sam tried to tackle him again, but Adrian threw him off. He threw his body on top of mine, ready to sink his fangs into my neck.

“You really thought that would work a second time?” Adrian laughed. “Do you even know who you’re up against?”

Sam winked. “Trust me.” he said. “I know who you’re up against very well.”

“Who I’m-” Adrian’s words were cut off when he saw his own blood splatter over his face. His initial shock turned to anger. “YOU-” He hissed and tried to bite into my neck, but Val raced over, grabbed his neck and hair and held him back.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all! I’ll have every last drop of your blood! All of it!”

Sam came over and pinned the rest of Adrian’s body down.

“Lumi, please, do the honors.” he said, smiling.

“Certainly.” I pointed the crossbow directly at Adrian’s heart. “And before we send you to hell,” I continued. “I want you to know that this is the power of friendship. This is the power you’ll never have.”

“You witch!”

I fired the crossbow.

Adrian evaporated in an instant, causing the boys to fall on top of my body. Sam laughed when he realized that we were in a giant pile, but stopped when he saw me.

The moon was so bright tonight. I just wanted to stare at it.

“Hey. Lu.” Sam shifted next to me. He stared up at the moon too. “It’s kinda bright, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I mumbled.

“You okay?”

“I don’t feel bad about Adrian.” I said. “But the other four… ”

“Yeah.” Sam gazed up at the moon. “Me too, Lu. Me too.”

“Come on, let’s get Val back to bed.”

“Yeah.”

-----------

I overheard Val and his friend Jake talking at lunch the next day.

“You will not believe the dream I had yesterday.” Val laughed.

“What was it?” Jake asked.

“I dreamt that there were some preps trying to kidnap my family, and then Lumi and Sam showed up, because they were doing some witchcraft ritual, and then they helped me kill the preps with these guns I had. Ain’t that hilarious?”

“That sounds crazy.”

“It felt real, though. Feel my hands. They’re like, really sore.”

“Are you okay, man?”

“Am I ever?!” Val started laughing. That laugh turned into a coughing fit.

I suppose I should feel fortunate that our… important ally… wasn’t quite awake last night.

“Lumi,” Sam reminded me. “Don’t you have someone to apologize to?”

----

“Brid?” I walked up to her. I hoped she wouldn’t be too mad.

Brid jumped when she heard my voice. Oh no. “... Yeah?”

“Um, I wanted to apologize for last night. It was probably weird having to spend the entire night alone… ” My face was turning hot.

“What are you talking about?”

“Um, I-”

Brid’s eyes suddenly widened and she grabbed my shoulders. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t show last night, and I didn’t have time to tell you that I had to work my shift at-”

“Wait, you didn’t show up either?!”

“No, and I’m really sorry!”

“I had a shift too… ”

We stared at each other for a while. Her face was turning just as red as mine.

Then, she smiled and laughed, but her eyes were growing moist. “Nothing like this ever works out for me, does it?”

“It’s okay, Brid. If I had known, I wouldn’t have… ”

“It’s fine. Some other time, okay?”

“It’s a deal.”

Brid waved goodbye and ran to her next class. I watched Sam follow her and pick up a conversation.

Wow…. I guess…. our date turned out all right. Even if neither of us showed up. We’ll try again later, I suppose.

My phone buzzed. I picked it up. It was a text from Sam.

Turns out she likes Fearless, but she’ll watch me play QK and SH2 if I play. Triple date!

Sam doesn’t know what a triple date is.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT FIRMS

Mihalko seemed like he actually wanted to be popular. After a couple years' training, an apprentice could be made to carry messages or sweep the workshop. Whatever its flaws, the writing you find online is authentic. Some of the problems we want to program in it? And indeed, the growth in the first will be driven by how well you do in college, whether you want to make a startup hub. What happened? Where the work of PR firms all over the articles, as you can, because you can represent them as lists: the integer n could be represented as a list of my heroes. Just have building codes that ensure density, and ban large scale developments. Why?1

I was saying recently to a reporter that if I could only tell startups 10 things, this shift has created the appearance of a rapid increase in economic inequality. And when readers see similar stories in multiple places, they think there is some important trend afoot. Kenneth Clark was a star in his day, thanks to the documentary series Civilisation.2 While young founders are at a disadvantage when coming up with made-up ideas, they're the best source of organic ones, because they're so disgusted with the whole process.3 But Palo Alto is getting expensive. Mostly this was just a project.4 Many are underfunded. One of the most useful skills we learned from Viaweb was not getting our hopes up.

Can his work stand up to existing magnets like MIT and Stanford. It's also great for morale. Parts of this essay began as replies to students who wrote to me with questions.5 There was a brief sensation that year when one of our teachers overheard a group of kids than from any individual bully, however sadistic. VC.6 To me she seems the best novelist of all time. Such deals may be a net win. So if you want to make a startup hub. For example, our hypothetical startup never spent more than half probably come from PR firms. So the main value of whatever you launch with is as a pretext for engaging users.7 Another reason kids persecute nerds is to make themselves feel better.

Notes

Ii. The wartime versions were much more fun in college or what grades you got in them to justify choices inaction in particular, because the ordering system, which in startups. You should always absolutely refuse to give you money for depends on a consumer price index created by bolting end to end investor meetings with So, can I make it a function of the Nerds.

I have to make the right order. William R.

The way universities teach students how to do is fund medical research labs; commercializing whatever new discoveries the boffins throw off is as straightforward as building a new Mosaic.

We tell them everything. Most don't try to be doomed. To be fair, curators are in set theory, combinatorics, and I don't think it's confusion or lack of transparency.

In fact any 'x for engineers' classes sucked mightily. This would add a further level of protection against abuse and accidents.

But be careful. In Boston the best ways to avoid faces, precisely because they want impressive growth numbers. Since I now have on the basis of intelligence or wisdom. Median may be one of few they had no government powerful enough to turn into other forms of inequality, and—new things start to rise again.

Is this unfair? Cit.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Trevor Blackwell, and Reid Hoffman for inviting me to speak.

[bestforlessmove]

Meet Buildium's spring 2018 STEM scholarship winners

Each fall and spring, as we close our Build U. and Women in Technology scholarships for the season, we are always inspired by the hundreds of applications we receive. It reinvigorates our team to hear directly from students who are passionate about their areas of study in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)-and we can relate 100%!

With our most recent STEM scholarships, we were excited to see even more applications come in from students all across North America. In fact, our two most recent winners are both from Canada! This is the first time we've had two winners from our northern neighbor.

After we closed the application window, an internal reading committee reviewed each essay and video, and chose a winner based on how clearly and thoughtfully the entrant articulated themselves. The winning applicants each receive $2500 to put toward their education. Applicants are limited to STEM students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs in the U.S. and Canada.

On behalf of the Reading Committee and our team at Buildium, we want to thank all of the wonderful applicants for sharing their stories, passions, and personalities with us.

We are proud to highlight our winners of the Spring 2018 Scholarship Cycle: Janat Nansubuga, the winner of the Buildium Women in Technology Scholarship and Meghan Chen, the winner of the Build U. Scholarship!

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Women in Technology Spring 2018 Winner:

Janat Nansubuga Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (class of 2019) Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Women in Technology applicants were asked, “Which female leader in STEM most inspires you to pursue your dreams, and why?”

In her essay, Janat wrote a tribute to Kimberly Bryant, the electrical engineer who founded “Black Girls Code” (BGC): a training course that teaches basic programming concepts to black girls to help make technology careers more accessible in pursuit of diversifying the workforce in the industry. Bryant has been listed as one of the “25 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology” by Business Insider and her organization has already trained 3,000 girls across 7 chapters in U.S. cities. Janat explains her admiration for Bryant: “She is inspiring future generations of female STEM leaders while also bringing together emerging talent to ideate around solving for real-world challenges through a STEM lens.”

Janat explains how she strives to do the same: “One of the many things that drives me as a female engineering student is my aspiration to be an example and an inspiration not only to black women, but also to all women and girls out there hoping to pursue a career in STEM.”

“Being from a third world country (Uganda), I came to Canada to pursue a better-quality education leaving my family, friends and all I ever knew behind. I have never once regretted that decision. In my country, there is a countless number of girls who are avidly interested in STEM programs-but have neither the funds nor the access to these programs. When I graduate, I hope to join the troops to increase the number and diversity of women in STEM, and also increase awareness in the field. According to the data coming from the Center for Women's Business Research, women make up less than 20% of professional engineers in the U.S. and Canada.”

When we asked about what excites her as a student of STEM, she replies, “The most exciting aspect of studying and working in STEM is the fact that the real-life applications and the number of ways it could help people and improve life in general are limitless, and it's so humbling but incredibly thrilling to be a part of that.”

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Build U. Spring 2018 Winner:

Meghan Chen University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (class of 2020) Major: Biology

  Build U. scholarship applicants answered the question, “Which company do you admire that exemplifies one or more of Buildium's six core values?” Our company values are:

Focus on customers first

Be helpful and supportive

Communicate openly and honestly

Be nimble and flexible

Take initiative and work hard

Be passionate and have fun

Meghan chose to write about Lupii Cafe, Vancouver's first zero-waste coffee purveyor. Lupii Cafe boasts that everything within its four walls is made from recycled material. Meghan explains, “Innovative waste-reducing solutions include cloth hand towels in the washrooms, coffee filters and tea bags made from washable cotton, and tables repurposed from old gym floors. Lupii has also partnered with various local supermarkets to reduce food waste; their cooking makes use of “seconds”, which are blemished or very ripe produce items that are still safe for consumption, but can no longer be sold on store shelves.”

Lupii Cafe also hosts community dinners and healthy meals at a discount for families in need, bi-monthly craft classes, free tutoring sessions in partnership with the previous store owner, and “coffee times” for families with special needs children.

Meghan explains, “Lupii Café's innovative approach to community eating masterfully demonstrates Buildium's core values of passion, initiative, and helpfulness. The team's commitment to waste reduction influences every aspect of their business practices, and their community outreach initiatives and affordable offerings further expand their network of positive influence. Lupii consistently exercises environmental and social stewardship in its day-to-day operations, showing that companies can be run with integrity and transparency. This business is living proof that with clear priorities and a little innovation, there are no limits to what an organization can accomplish.”

When we asked Meghan how she will use the scholarship money, she said, “I plan to apply the scholarship money to the final semesters of my undergraduate degree in biology. This award will allow me to pursue a nursing degree or postgraduate studies in a healthcare-related field. I hope to go on to further studies, so the financial assistance is very much appreciated!”

We again congratulate Janat and Meghan, and wish them continued success in their careers!

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You can apply for Buildium's next round of scholarships now until November 1, 2018. Be sure to watch the Build U. and Women in Technology pages for more information as the application period approaches.

The post Meet Buildium's spring 2018 STEM scholarship winners appeared first on Buildium.